Trouble Follows at Every Pawstep
by Mossflower44
Summary: The Dark Forest threat has come and gone. Now a new generation of cats have risen. Will they be able to save the forest from the new danger that has arrived? First book in The New Generation series. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Allegiances & Prologue

**A/N: This is my first fanfic! Hope you all enjoy... and only constructive criticism allowed. Reviews are welcome! Anyway... these are the allegiances. If you can't read them all, that's fine, but there's a prologue somewhere... near the end?**

**ALLEGIANCES**

**THUNDERCLAN**

**LEADER**

**Bramblestar—**dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**DEPUTY**

**Squirrelflight**—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**MEDICINE CAT**

**Jayfeather**—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

**WARRIORS**

**Graystripe**—long-haired gray tom with yellow eyes

**Brackenfur**—golden brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Thornclaw**—golden brown tabby tom

**Brightheart**—white she-cat with ginger patches and blue eyes

**Millie**—striped gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Cloudtail**—long-haired white tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Seedpaw

**Sorreltail**—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

**Spiderleg**—long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes  
Apprentice, Dewpaw

**Leafpool**—light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, former medicine cat

**Whitewing**—white she-cat with green eyes

**Birchfall**—light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Berrynose**—cream-colored tom

**Mousewhisker**—gray-and-white tom with green eyes

**Hazeltail**—small gray-and-white she-cat  
Apprentice, Lilypaw

**Poppyfrost**—tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

**Lionblaze**—golden tabby tom with amber eyes

**Foxleap**—reddish tabby tom

**Icecloud**—white she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Snowpaw

**Rosepetal**—dark cream she-cat

**Toadstep**—black-and-white tom

**Briarlight**—dark brown she-cat

**Bumblestripe**—very pale gray tom with black stripes

**Blossomfall**—tortoiseshell and white she-cat

**Dovewing**—pale gray she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Amberpaw

**Ivypool**—silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

**Cherrynose**—ginger she-cat with amber eyes

**Molewhisker**—cream-and-brown tom with amber eyes

**APPRENTICES**

**Seedpaw**—very pale ginger she-cat

**Lilypaw**—dark tabby she-cat with white patches

**Amberpaw**—gray she-cat with amber eyes

**Dewpaw**—gray tom with amber eyes

**Snowpaw**—white tom with amber eyes

**QUEENS**

**Daisy**—cream long-furred she-cat from the horseplace

**Cinderheart**—gray tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes  
Kits, Birdkit, Redkit, Bluekit

**Squirrelflight**—dark ginger she-cat with green eyes  
Kits, Mosskit, Flamekit

**KITS**

**Bluekit**—dark gray she-kit with blue eyes

**Redkit**—dark red tabby tom with amber eyes

**Birdkit**—light brown tabby she-kit with green eyes

**Mosskit**—brown tabby she-kit with amber eyes, a white chest and front paws

**Flamekit**—ginger tom with amber eyes

**ELDERS**

**Purdy**—plump tabby, former loner, with a gray muzzle and amber eyes

**Dustpelt**—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Sandstorm**—pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

**SHADOWCLAN**

**LEADER**

**Blackstar**—large white tom with jet-black paws

**DEPUTY**

**Rowanclaw**—ginger tom

**MEDICINE CAT**

**Littlecloud**—very small tabby tom with light blue eyes

**WARRIORS**

**Oakfur**—small dark brown tom

**Nightwing**—black she-cat

**Tawnypelt**—tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes  
Apprentice, Dewpaw

**Spiderfoot**—gray tom with black front paws

**Applefur**—mottled brown she-cat  
Apprentice, Sparrowpaw

**Toadfoot**—dark brown tom

**Kinkfur**—tabby she-cat, with long fur that sticks out at all angles

**Smokefoot**—black tom

**Crowfrost**—black-and-white tom

**Ratscar**—brown tom with long scar across his back

**Snowbird**—pure white she-cat

**Olivenose**—tortoiseshell she-cat  
Apprentice, Mistpaw

**Owlclaw**—light brown tabby tom

**Shrewfoot**—gray she-cat with black feet

**Scorchfur**—dark gray tom

**Tigerheart**—dark brown tabby tom

**Dawnpelt**—cream-furred she-cat

**Pinenose**—black she-cat

**Ferretclaw**—cream-and-gray tom

**Starlingwing**—ginger tom

**Stoatpelt**—ginger tom

**APPRENTICES**

**Dewpaw**—gray she-cat

**Sparrowpaw**—large tabby tom

**Mistpaw**—pale gray she-cat

**QUEENS**

**Ivytail**—black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat  
Kits, Wolfkit, Honeykit, Nightkit

**KITS**

**Wolfkit**—dark gray tom

**Honeykit**—light ginger she-kit

**Nightkit**—jet black tom

**ELDERS**

**Tallpoppy**—long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

**Whitewater**—white she-cat with long fur, blind in one eye

**RIVERCLAN**

**LEADER**

**Mistystar**—gray she-cat with blue eyes

**DEPUTY**

**Reedwhisker**—black tom

**MEDICINE CAT**

**Willowshine**—gray tabby she-cat

**WARRIORS**

**Graymist**—pale gray tabby she-cat

**Splashfur**—gray and white she-cat

**Mintfur**—light gray tabby tom  
Apprentice, Fishpaw

**Icewing**—white she-cat with blue eyes

**Duskfur**—brown tabby she-cat

**Pebblefoot**—mottled gray tom  
Apprentice, Splashpaw

**Mallownose**—light brown tabby tom

**Sneezedust**—gray and white tom

**Copperfur**—dark ginger she-cat

**Nettletooth**—dark brown tabby tom

**Robinwing**—tortoiseshell-and-white tom

**Petalfur**—gray-and-white she-cat

**Grasspelt**—light brown tom

**Prickleclaw**—light brown tabby tom

**Silverheart**—gray tabby she-cat  
Apprentice, Ripplepaw

**Hollowflight**—dark brown tabby tom

**Mossyfoot**—brown-and-white she-cat

**Pikewater**—large dark gray tom

**Rushtail**—light brown tabby she-cat

**Tanglefur**—long furred brown tom

**Heronwing**—brown tabby tom

**APPRENTICES**

**Splashpaw**—light gray she-cat

**Fishpaw**—black-and-gray tom

**Ripplepaw**—tortoiseshell she-cat

**QUEENS**

**Minnowtail**—dark gray she-cat  
Kits, Waterkit, Icekit

**Troutstream**—pale gray tabby she-cat  
Kits, Duckkit, Slickkit

**KITS**

**Waterkit**—mottled gray tom with blue eyes

**Icekit**—white she-kit with blue eyes

**Duckkit**—pale gold tom with green eyes

**Slickkit**—gray tabby tom with blue eyes

**ELDERS**

**Dapplenose**—mottled gray she-cat

**Pouncetail**—ginger-and-white tom

**Mosspelt**—tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

**WINDCLAN**

**LEADER**

**Onestar**—brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**DEPUTY**

**Ashfoot**—gray she-cat

**MEDICINE CAT**

**Kestrelflight**—mottled gray tom

**WARRIORS**

**Whitetail**—small white she-cat

**Nightcloud**—black she-cat with amber eyes

**Crowfeather**—dark gray tom with blue eyes

**Thistletooth**—black-and-gray tom

**Owlwhisker**—light brown tabby tom

**Weaselfur**—ginger tom with white paws

**Gorsetail**—very pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

**Harespring**—brown-and-white tom

**Leaftail**—dark tabby tom with amber eyes

**Willowclaw**—gray she-cat

**Heathertail**—light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Emberfoot**—gray tom with two dark paws

**Swallowtail**—dark gray she-cat

**Sunstrike**—tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead

**Whiskernose**—light brown tom

**Furzepelt**—gray-and-white she-cat

**Boulderfur**—large pale gray tom

**Crouchfoot**—black tom

**Larksong**—gray she-cat

**QUEENS**

**Dewspots**—spotted gray tabby she-cat  
Kits, Sunkit, Mistkit

**Sedgewhisker**—light brown tabby she-cat  
Kits, Flowerkit

**KITS**

**Sunkit**—bright ginger tom with amber eyes

**Mistkit**—light gray tabby she-kit with blue eyes

**Flowerkit**—tortoiseshell she-kit with blue eyes

**ELDERS**

**Webfoot**—dark gray tabby tom

**Tornear**—tabby tom

**Robinwing**—light brown she-cat with blue eyes

**CATS OUTSIDE CLANS**

**Smoky**—muscular gray and white tom

**Floss**—small pale gray and white she-cat

**Breezepelt**—black tom with amber eyes

**Blackshadow**—smoky gray tom with amber eyes

**Rosethorn**—ginger she-cat with blue eyes

**Thorntail**—light gray tom with dark blue eyes

**A/N: In case you're wondering where some of the cats came from, I took time to go through all the cats in Warriors Wiki. That was a lot of work. Plus I added a few that were necessary, like kits... By the way, Rosethorn, Thorntail, and Blackshadow all come from V-Roxie-V's stories, 'Every Rose Has Its Thorns', 'Burning Roses, Silver Thorns', and 'Thorn of the Past, Rose of the Present'. Those characters belong to her. (I hope she doesn't mind me using them, but she hasn't done anything with her account since 2-3 years ago!)**

**Soooo... this is the Prologue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, am not Erin Hunter, never thought I was, and never will be.**

Prologue

The black she-cat gazed unseeing into the still waters of the pool, her mind wandering as she thought of her Clan. Danger was being foretold for it, and she didn't like it. Of course, who would? Her green eyes flashed briefly as images raced through her head of cats wailing, and the moon was briefly covered by a thin wispy cloud.

Shaking her head firmly to get rid of the images, she heard a quiet rustle behind her from the trees surrounding the hollow. A flame-coloured tom had emerged from the shadows in the trees and was slowly approaching, being careful not to slip on the loose sand and pebbles.

"Hello, Firestar," the she-cat sighed, flicking her tail to invite the tom to join her.

As he sat down beside her, Firestar glanced at the she-cat. Having seen the danger as well, he was finding it hard to sit back and watch without doing anything. "Sometimes I wonder if it's easier being a Clan leader with your Clan or a StarClan cat watching over your Clan," he muttered, curling his tail over his paws. The she-cat nodded in agreement, although she had never been a leader.

A blue-gray she-cat appeared suddenly and sat down beside them. Her arrival had been silent and their minds had been full, so they had not heard her approaching.

"Are you two all right?" the she-cat asked. She had also seen the future. "Both of you must tell the two cats their duty."

The black she-cat nodded. "We're supposed to pick the cat we think would be best, correct?"

"Right," Firestar murmured, the tip of his tail twitching uncomfortably. "Only problem is, who is the right one? We have to choose carefully or everything is lost."

The black she-cat lifted her gaze to stare up into the treetops. "I hope we choose the right ones," she mumbled. "This will be my first time."

Firestar turned to gaze at her. "You'll be fine. I have faith in you, Hollyleaf."

She blinked thankfully at Firestar and turned back to the shining pool. It wasn't likely to reveal anything helpful, but it was still comforting. She often sat there just because, staring into its depths, wondering what mysteries it held.

The three cats sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. There would be consequences coming with whichever cat Firestar and Hollyleaf chose, so it was crucial that they chose carefully.

The threat coming to the forest probably wasn't as bad as the Dark Forest cats had been, but if the danger wasn't kept under control and rid of, it would wipe out the entire race of Clans.

They sat together for some time, each thinking about different things, when a pattering of paws drawing near sounded close by. The three cats turned to see Flametail, Barkface, and Leopardstar pad through some ferns towards them. Flametail's wide eyes betrayed his worry for the Clans as he restrained himself to leap forward.

"Did you hear?" he demanded, his tail lashing from side to side.

"Take it easy, Flametail," Barkface scolded. "The danger is real, but you mustn't get so worked up about it, or the cats we visit won't be able to handle it."

Flametail took a deep breath. "Sorry."

Leopardstar's eyes were narrowed as she surveyed the scene. "I am guessing all three of you have heard it by now, am I right, Bluestar?"

The blue-gray she-cat nodded. She didn't take any part of it, as it was not her place this time. Her time had come and gone, and while she was still part of StarClan and very much loved, it was time for the newer arrivals to start taking part.

"Have you decided yet on who you're going to visit?" Flametail asked, gazing from Hollyleaf to Firestar and back. His fur was still bristling, as if he couldn't gather himself to calm down enough, and his voice had gotten high-pitched again.

"I may have," Firestar murmured. "It depends on who you all have chosen, though. They need to be able to work together."

"And they have to be old enough," Hollyleaf added, turning away so they wouldn't see the amusement plastered on her face. She had been considering a certain she-cat, but she wasn't really old enough to handle the news yet. She needed to learn how to control herself first.

"Who have you chosen?" Barkface asked in surprise. It sounded as if he thought she had picked a newborn kit to carry the news.

Hollyleaf glared at Barkface before flicking her tail at the pool. A dark image had formed, and he had to peer closely in the growing darkness before he was able to see it well enough. He nodded, approving. "I think it would best if we waited until they are all apprenticed, don't you?"

Leopardstar shrugged. "If you think they'll be ready by then."

"So you've all chosen cats that are still kits?" Bluestar asked, her whiskers twitching. Hollyleaf poked Bluestar with a paw teasingly.

"Maybe it's better that they're all the same age," Hollyleaf mewed.

"Okay," Flametail agreed. "Russetfur and I will visit the two cats from ShadowClan."

"How is Russetfur, anyway?" Barkface meowed abruptly. "I haven't seen her for quite some time now." Flametail glanced at Barkface, surprised. The brown tom shrugged. "I was just wondering."

"She's fine," Flametail meowed, ducking a blow Leopardstar shot at him with a sheathed paw.

"Yes, and driving me crazy!" Leopardstar hissed. "You should tell her to mind her own business, Flametail."

"Is something wrong, Leopardstar?" Firestar purred. "Would you like to share your concern with the rest of us?"

"Mind your own business!" Leopardstar snapped, flicking her tail dismissively.

Flametail rolled his eyes. "Who else is going to go?"

"Tallstar and I," Barkface meowed. He glanced at Leopardstar expectantly.

"Well, you all know of the new she-cat that has recently joined us in StarClan," Leopardstar murmured. "I think we should let her go."

Firestar nodded. "You're right. Okay, Hollyleaf and I will go."

Hollyleaf gazed back down at the water in the pool as nearly all the cats left. Flametail stayed behind, sensing her uneasiness.

"She'll be fine, Hollyleaf," Flametail meowed. He was talking about her choice. Hollyleaf knew she probably would be, but suddenly the water vibrated. Hollyleaf narrowed her eyes and watched as visions passed before her eyes, all about the she-cat she had chosen. By the time they had ended, her fur was bristling and her eyes wide.

Seeing that she was back at the side of the pool, she relaxed and sighed, turning to look at Flametail. "I know she'll be fine, but her life is going to be a hard one. Much harder than any other cat in a very different way."

"Hollyleaf, every cat has to go through some kind of ordeal. It's just the ways of the forest," Flametail mewed. He hadn't seen the visions she had, but he got the feeling she was telling the absolute truth.

"Yes, but . . ." Hollyleaf sighed, staring back down at the water. "At one point all I could see was a bright white light. It was everywhere, and I couldn't see anything. And I heard her screeching in pain, although it was all in her mind."

Flametail gazed across the pool into the trees beyond as a soft breeze rustled the leaves. "With the help of StarClan and her Clanmates, she'll make it," he meowed  
softly.

**A/N: Well, that wraps up the first 'chapter'. It's really a prologue, but whatever. I'll update as soon as I can, whenever I can (I need time to get the next chapter ready). Thanks for taking time to read!**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here is the promised chapter! Chapter 1! Yay! Okay. But I've got one question... Why aren't there any reviews? Come on... I know you read the Prologue!  
So, this chapter is just the basic "I'm an apprentice" day stuff. The story should pick up excitement... somewhere around... chapter 3 or so.  
Now that you've been patient enough to listen to my rambling, read on!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it? I don't own Warriors.**

Chapter 1

Mosskit bounced around outside the nursery, trying to get rid of her energy in time for the ceremony. Usually, if there was going to be a ceremony, it was going to be for a different cat. But this time she was the one getting one! And her brother and the three other kits, of course.

The only other ceremony she could really remember was Amberpaw, Dewpaw, and Snowpaw's apprentice ceremony. She had been only three moons old.

Leaping around outside finally wore her out, and she trotted back over to the nursery. Peeking in, she spotted Flamekit getting a thorough wash from Squirrelflight, her mother. A quick glance over at the other three kits told her they were getting the same treatment.

Mosskit tiptoed a few steps away, trying to get away before Squirrelflight spotted her. However much she wanted to look good for the ceremony, she didn't want her mother to do it! Showering affection like that was a too annoying for her taste.

Unfortunately, Mosskit had forgotten about the other queen in the nursery—who currently had no kits. Daisy. The cream she-cat picked up Mosskit by the scruff and gently dropped her in the clutches of Squirrelflight, who blinked up at Daisy thankfully. With a dip of her head, Daisy moved over to Cinderheart to help with her three kits.

Squirrelflight started licking Mosskit all over, ignoring the squeaks of protest from her daughter. At one point, she lifted her head to sternly glare at Flamekit. "If you get your pelt dirty, I'll never forgive you."

Flamekit rolled his eyes and looked away. "I won't," he muttered.

Once Squirrelflight finished grooming her two kits, she drew back and gazed proudly at them. "My two kits are becoming apprentices today," she purred. "Bramblestar and I are so proud of both of you."

Mosskit purred and lifted her head higher. "I'm going to be the greatest warrior ever!"

Squirrelflight licked the top of Mosskit's head. "Yes, I'm sure you will be, seeing as how you take after me."

"What do you mean?" Mosskit asked, cocking her head to one side. "I look like Bramblestar, not you."

"Yes, that's true," Squirrelflight agreed, "but you act like I did when I was an apprentice. Always eager to rush into things. Always excited about every little thing that moves."

Mosskit turned away. She wasn't _that_ hyper.

"Does that mean I'm like Bramblestar?" Flamekit asked. "I don't want to be leader."

"No, you probably won't be leader. It all depends on whether Jayfeather decides to take you on as his apprentice or not," Squirrelflight meowed, flicking her younger kit gently with her tail. "But you are most like Bramblestar."

Mosskit glanced over at her brother. If he was accepted as the next medicine cat apprentice, that would mean she couldn't sleep with him anymore! That would be terrible! But she could see by the way Flamekit's eyes shined whenever he talked about Jayfeather that he really wanted to be a medicine cat. Maybe she could sleep in the medicine den too.

Mosskit stood up and padded back over to the entrance of the nursery. She was joined by Redkit, one of the other kits. They often enjoyed each other's company at night and sometimes even slept beside each other. Of course, it was unlikely that their friendship would end now that they were becoming apprentices, but up until now, Mosskit had never thought about having a mate.

She didn't much like the thought of one.

A hunting patrol suddenly raced through the thorn tunnel, heading straight for the fresh-kill pile. It consisted of Sorreltail, Leafpool, Mousewhisker, and a golden brown tabby tom that she hadn't met yet. Turning to Redkit, she hissed, "Who's that tabby tom over there?"

"That's Brackenfur, Sorreltail's mate," Redkit whispered back. "He talked to me a few days ago, when I was getting a vole from the fresh-kill pile. Said he knew I was going to be a strong apprentice."

Mosskit purred, retreating back into the nursery. A heartbeat later, a yowl sounded from outside. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting."

Mosskit gave an excited mew as she bounced around the nursery with Redkit and Flamekit. Birdkit and Bluekit, Redkit's two sisters, joined them in their excited romp, but Squirrelflight stopped them. "I told you not to get your pelts dirty, remember?"

Flamekit sat down with a huff, curling his tail around his paws in a resigned position, but when Birdkit stood beside him and gave him a friendly lick on his cheek, Flamekit mewled, jumping backwards. He was a true medicine cat, at least, if he was accepted.

The five kits waited for Lionblaze to enter the nursery to take them out to the Highledge. When he did, Mosskit gazed up at him in admiration before standing. Lionblaze was the best fighter in the whole Clan, probably in all the four Clans. Of course, it was because of his power, but that didn't matter. He could still defeat enemies. Plus, he was Redkit, Bluekit, and Birdkit's father.

Of course, it was amazing to have Clan leader as father and Clan deputy as mother. Bramblestar didn't even let his duties to the Clan distract him from spending time with his kits.

As the five kits followed Lionblaze out of the nursery, all trembling with excitement, Squirrelflight and Cinderheart slipped out behind them, going over to sit by the Highledge.

Lionblaze stopped in front of the Highledge and nodded at the kits, signalling for them to step forward. He stepped back and sat down beside Cinderheart.

Bramblestar bounded down from the Highledge and stood in front of the five kits. Mosskit and Flamekit felt no intimacy, since he was their father, but the other three looked a bit nervous to be standing in front of the Clan leader.

Bramblestar raised his head and started speaking, his voice loud and clear. "We haven't had this many kits made into apprentices all at the same time in quite a while. It's a wonderful experience—"

"Get on with it!" a cat called, a white longhaired tom sitting beside Berrynose, Mosskit noted. She couldn't tell which cat had called out. Bramblestar glared at the cat before turning back to the kits.

"Bluekit, Redkit, Birdkit, Mosskit, and Flamekit, you are all six moons old, and are now ready to become apprentices." Bramblestar turned to the first kit, Bluekit.

"Bluekit, you are now Bluepaw until you receive your warrior name. Your mentor will be Poppyfrost," Bramblestar meowed, looking up at Poppyfrost. The tortoiseshell she-cat didn't seem surprised, and she stepped forward to stand beside Bluepaw.

"Poppyfrost, this is your first apprentice. Train her well," Bramblestar meowed, nodding to the new mentor.

Poppyfrost turned to Bluepaw, who eagerly reached up to touch noses with her new mentor. As the first kit to become an apprentice in their group, she was feeling a bit proud, and she bumped her nose. Embarrassed, she sat down beside Poppyfrost to the side, and Bramblestar continued the ceremony.

"Birdkit, you are now Birdpaw. Your mentor is Ivypool."

The gray and white she-cat stood up and padded over to the brown she-cat. Facing Bramblestar, Ivypool nodded for him to continue.

"Ivypool, this is also your first apprentice. Train her well, and make her a warrior for ThunderClan to be proud of. Oh, and make sure she overcomes the habit of leaving camp without permission," Bramblestar added sternly. His eyes flashed with amusement, though. Birdpaw had a reputation for sneaking out of camp unnoticed, and she always got caught when she returned.

Birdpaw narrowed her eyes and turned to face her mentor, acting much more dignified than her older sister. She reached up and softly touched noses with Ivypool, following her to where her sister and Poppyfrost were sitting.

Bramblestar looked down at the third kit in Cinderheart and Lionblaze's litter, Redkit. While he was not the youngest, he was neither the eldest, so Mosskit wondered why Bramblestar had waited until now to make him an apprentice. Shouldn't he have been second in line?

While she was pondering her confusing thoughts—something she often did—Mosskit suddenly noticed that Birchfall was standing beside Redkit. Why was he there?

". . . and make him a strong warrior," Bramblestar meowed, watching as Redpaw and Birchfall touched noses. With a jolt, Mosskit realized that she hadn't been paying attention at all, and Redkit was now Redpaw.

Suddenly, it was her turn. Mosskit's heart beat loudly, and she feared that Bramblestar would hear it. Her father gazed down at her, and he meowed, "Mosskit, you are now Mosspaw. Your mentor is—"

The moment before Bramblestar said her mentor's name seemed to stretch out for a moon.

"—Lionblaze."

Mosspaw held back a gasp. Lionblaze! Her mentor was Lionblaze! Wait, Lionblaze? Wasn't he the cat that had saved the Clans against the Dark Forest along with Dovewing and Jayfeather? Didn't he already have an apprentice? Oh, wait, no, she wasn't thinking clearly.

Lionblaze was suddenly beside her, and her flicked her flank with his tail lightly, drawing her attention back to the clearing.

"Train your second apprentice as well as you trained Dovewing," Bramblestar was meowing.

Lionblaze looked down at Mosspaw, amusement lighting in his eyes. Whether it was because she had spaced out for a while, or because of some other reason—maybe she looked like a squirrel—she'd never know. She lifted her nose up and touched his nose happily, turning away to sit beside Redpaw. As she turned back to the single kit left—Flamekit—she realized this was the moment that would determine his future. Either he was accepted as Jayfeather's apprentice, or he was confined to being a warrior apprentice.

"Flamekit," Bramblestar meowed, "you are now Flamepaw."

Mosspaw held her breath.

"Jayfeather has agreed for you to be his apprentice."

Mosspaw started to leap up, but a touch from Lionblaze and a sideways glance made her sit back down.

"Jayfeather, guide Flamepaw through the path of a medicine cat, and train him well," Bramblestar meowed, stepping slightly back as Jayfeather approached the two cats.

The gray tabby dipped his head towards Bramblestar, then turned to Flamepaw and touched his nose. The moment he straightened up again, the Clan erupted into cheers.

"Bluepaw! Birdpaw! Redpaw! Mosspaw! Flamepaw!"

Every cat rushed forward and crowded around the newly made apprentices, congratulating them and telling their mentors good luck. Mosspaw staggered a bit as Foxleap nudged her with a sparkle in his eyes. Glaring at the tom, she stared past him and noticed that Leafpool was leaving camp without having anything to do with the apprentices. It looked as though she was sneaking away.

Once the cats had dispersed and gathered around Squirrelflight, who was issuing a few orders, Mosspaw pranced in one spot in front of her mentor. "What do we do first, Lionblaze?" she asked eagerly.

Lionblaze purred, watching his new apprentice try to contain her boundless energy. "For the rest of the day, you're going to stay here, get a spot in the apprentices' den, and get to know your new denmates. Tomorrow we'll explore the forest, and I'll show you our territory. It's a long trek, so you'll need to rest up before we go out, okay?"

Mosspaw shrugged and nodded. "Okay." She looked over her shoulder at the apprentices' den, where Amberpaw, Dewpaw, Snowpaw, Seedpaw, and Lilypaw were standing. Before she left to join Redpaw, Birdpaw, and Bluepaw, she turned back to face Lionblaze to ask him a question, but he was already padding away to see Squirrelflight.

Mosspaw growled, annoyed, and stepped back as Jayfeather led Flamepaw to the medicine den. She might as well ask Jayfeather.

"Hey! Jayfeather!" she meowed, racing forward and slowing down beside the gray tabby. Jayfeather turned his face to look down at Mosspaw. He was blind, but the way he acted made him seem as if he wasn't.

"Why did Leafpool sneak out of camp?" Mosspaw asked, screeching to a halt when the medicine cat stopped.

"Leafpool snuck out of camp?" Jayfeather asked. His piercing blue eyes grew out of focus, and he lifted his head. Suddenly they narrowed, and he looked back at Mosspaw. "Don't worry about Leafpool," he murmured.

Mosspaw shrugged and bounded back to where the three other apprentices were waiting for her.

Redpaw purred and flicked his tail towards the apprentices' den. "Should we dare to approach the higher rankers?"

Bluepaw rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

The four apprentices stood in an almost defensive line and faced the den. Mosspaw felt a sharp pang in her stomach as she realized she wouldn't have Flamepaw to sleep beside tonight. Before they advanced, Mosspaw leaned closer to Redpaw. "Want to sleep together tonight?" she whispered, feeling reassured when she got a nod in return. At least she didn't have to spend the night alone.

She turned back, and the four new apprentices padded over to the waiting older apprentices, ready to face their doom.

* * *

Mosspaw stumbled into camp with a groan, trudging behind Lionblaze as he led her to the apprentices' den. Doom had been the right word; today Lionblaze had taken her to see the territory, and great StarClan had that been a trial.

Now it was nearly sundown, and she was ready to fall over in her nest and sleep for a moon.

**A/N: Aww... our first view of Mosspaw and Flamepaw! And I'm not sure... but I think Dewpaw and Redpaw might have an important role later on. -checks- Maybe. Thanks for reading, and see you all (I guess not literally) next week!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2. Sorry I am really late; I didn't manage to finish rewriting this chapter until just now ^_^ I still don't see any reviews.**

**I still don't own Warriors . . .**

Chapter 2

Flamepaw slowly crept forward, focused on a mouse just out of reach. He was crouched somewhere in the midst of a leafy-green forest that had sunlight filtering through the thick trees. Before he could pounce on the mouse, it turned around a faced him, suddenly changing into a large dog. It snarled, showing it's teeth, and Flamepaw leapt back, quickly scrambling up a nearby tree.

He peered down from the shelter of a branch higher than the dog, taking in every detail. The dog was quite large, and had its front paws planted on the trunk as it stared back up at him. Leaping down from the branch to escape was not an option, so he looked around to see if he could get away through the trees.

As he scouted around, the thick, gray furred dog suddenly barked in cat tongue, "Flamepaw, get up! You'll waste the whole day away by staying in your nest, and we've got herbs to collect."

Flamepaw jerked awake and looked up at Jayfeather. He sighed in relief as he realized that it had only been a dream. Standing up, he stretched out his forepaws and yawned, curling his tail over his back. "Okay, I'm coming," he mewed. He wasn't exactly used to waking up when the dawn patrol was leaving.

Flamepaw followed Jayfeather out of their den and into camp, noticing Lionblaze standing outside the apprentice den. He was probably waiting for Mosspaw.

The two medicine cats padded out of camp and into the forest. Flamepaw couldn't believe his eyes and nose. While he had been able to see many of the treetops from inside camp, that was nothing compared to actually _being_ outside.

"The forest smells so clean!" Flamepaw exclaimed, startling a vole nearby and sending down its burrow. Ignoring it, he turned to Jayfeather. "So what are we looking for?"

"Comfrey root. Do you remember what it looks like? I showed it to you yesterday," Jayfeather meowed.

Flamepaw stared at the ground as he fought to remember, but he had to shake his head. "No, I don't remember. You showed me tons of herbs yesterday. I'll probably remember it when I see it."

Jayfeather didn't nod, but he flicked his ears, showing he had heard. "Comfrey root is usually found best around the WindClan border. They like damp, grassy places, and the border is a stream, so that's how I know where they are. Of course, I could find it down by the lake, but something destroyed the supply a few days ago—probably a rabbit," Jayfeather added with a hiss. "We'll have to wait a few moons for it to regrow."

Flamepaw nodded, even though he knew his mentor was blind. Jayfeather understood. He knew he did.

Falling back, he opened his jaws to try and scent any other herbs that he could remember. Not paying attention to his surroundings, he somehow padded right into a tree. "Mouse dung!" he growled, reaching up to rub his nose.

Jayfeather had stopped only a few pawsteps away as if he had known Flamepaw would run into the tree. "Just so you know, Flamepaw, trees are actually rooted to the ground. That means they can't move aside when one is in your path," he called back without turning his head.

Flamepaw bounded back to his mentor's side, giving him a fierce glare. He knew he couldn't see.

Jayfeather looked down at his apprentice with amused eyes. "What's wrong, Flamepaw?" he meowed calmly. His ears twitched as he tried not to laugh. Flamepaw bared his teeth and crouched down, ready to leap at his mentor. He might be his mentor, but he shouldn't treat him like that!

Jayfeather flicked Flamepaw's flank with his tail. "All right, there's no need for that. Come on; let's go. The border's just up ahead." He started padding on in the direction of what must have been the WindClan border. Flamepaw got up reluctantly and followed, wondering how Jayfeather had noticed he was going to pounce. Maybe he wasn't as blind as Flamepaw thought.

The two medicine cats came up to a stream, obviously the border with WindClan. Flamepaw drew in the scent, turning away in disgust. It smelled strongly of rabbits, and that wasn't his favourite. But he'd eat it any day instead of robins. Robins were _awful_.

Jayfeather started padding along the bank of the stream, his jaws open to catch any scents, most likely comfrey root. Since Flamepaw couldn't remember what comfrey root looked or smelled like, he let Jayfeather do the tracking. He didn't bother to scent the air again until his mentor stopped.

Flamepaw looked around, tasting the air. He caught a scent he remembered from yesterday, and, figuring it could be comfrey, he followed it to a plant that had light purple flowers. He called back over to Jayfeather, "Is this it?"

Jayfeather padded over, sniffing the leaves. "No, that's watermint. I got a fresh supply a few days ago, but if you were to pick some, you bite off the plant near the bottom of the stem. Do you remember what _this_ is for?"

"Uh . . . for . . . breath . . . ing?" Flamepaw hesitated. It was probably wrong, but he hadn't been lying when he had said that Jayfeather had shown him a bunch of herbs the day before. So many herbs and uses!

"No. You use watermint for bellyache. I prefer using it rather than juniper berries, but they work as well," Jayfeather explained. "Oh, and in case you were wondering, we can use comfrey root for soothing wounds, broken bones, and of course aching joints, which is why we're looking for it right now. The elders are complaining."

"Oh. . . ."

Jayfeather turned and padded to a patch of tiny little pink flowers with giant leaves.

"This is comfrey root," Jayfeather meowed, flicking his tail for Flamepaw to come over. "Dig up some of the roots, but not too many. We want some for future use."

Flamepaw gingerly started scraping at the ground near the base of the plants, eventually getting a few pulled up. They continued for a little while, until an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded from across the stream.

"Finally got an apprentice, Jayfeather?"

Flamepaw and Jayfeather spun around sharply. The gray tabby's blind blue eyes flashed as he recognized the scent. His eyes narrowed and he hissed, "Breezepelt."

Flamepaw's eyes widened as he stared at the black tom across the stream, who was waving his tail calmly back and forth. Breezepelt had been exiled from WindClan by his _father_ when he had taken the Dark Forest's side in the great battle; didn't that mean he couldn't be trusted? What was he doing back here? Was he going to send a message to the Clans by attacking two medicine cats? That was against the warrior code! Wasn't it?

Breezepelt sighed and looked away. "I didn't come here to hurt you. I just wanted to—"

Jayfeather interrupted, turning quickly to his apprentice. "Flamepaw, take the comfrey root back to camp. Tell anyone who asks that I'll be back in a while. Go now!"

Flamepaw hesitated before picking up the comfrey root and bolting away through some bracken. Once safely hidden between the fronds, he wiggled around and faced the two cats, pleading to StarClan that he wouldn't be seen. He couldn't let Jayfeather face Breezepelt alone; Jayfeather was blind! He couldn't fight if his half-brother pounced on him! Of course, Flamepaw wasn't exactly the number one fighter in ThunderClan, but if things happened, he had to help.

Jayfeather was bristling, his tail fluffed out and his claws unsheathed, but he sat down and listened as Breezepelt spoke again.

"Look, Jayfeather, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for what I didn't. I know you could never forgive me, but I am truly, genuinely sorry," Breezepelt meowed. He looked away as Jayfeather narrowed his eyes again.

"Breezepelt, you attacked my brother, _and_ tried to kill me and Poppyfrost. Tell me why you expect me to believe you when you say you're sorry."

"I know! I don't expect you to believe me. I just want you to hear me out," Breezepelt murmured. "I—I'm sorry for attacking Lionblaze; for hurting Leafpool; for hating you, your siblings, and Crowfeather, and mostly for siding with the Dark Forest. I was confused and angry at the world; the Dark Forest cats made me seem wanted. I never had what you had; a mother and father that loved you, even if they weren't who you thought they were. And they never stopped loving you, along with Leafpool. You're part of ThunderClan, Jayfeather. I'm a rogue now, an outcast forever. I thought the Dark Forest could get me what I wanted . . .

"I think mostly, I wanted to be with you . . . just like Lionblaze."

Flamepaw gasped, slapping his tail over his mouth immediately. What was Breezepelt saying? It was almost as if he was hinting that he had changed forces and now wanted to stay in ThunderClan . . . or something similar. But he was right; he was an outcast. None of the Clans would accept him.

Jayfeather was silent for several heartbeats, trying to comprehend what Breezepelt had just said. Finally, he mumbled, "Is that all?"

"Jayfeather, the only reason I was ever mean to you, Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze, was because I was jealous of what you had. Can't you understand that?" Breezepelt meowed, his amber eyes flashing with some kind of emotion that Flamepaw couldn't distinguish—nor did he want to.

"You're a mousebrain," Jayfeather meowed calmly, obviously waiting for a reaction.

"I know."

"So then why are you still here?"

"I just wanted to make sure you understood that I am truly sorry before I left permanently. I know everyone thought I've been long gone, but I couldn't leave without making sure my Clan wasn't suffering because of me . . . and I was watching you as well," Breezepelt added after a pause.

"So you're leaving for good? Never coming back? Not even staying outside the Clan's territory?" Jayfeather asked quietly. He seemed genuinely regretful, but Flamepaw had no idea why.

"Yes, Jayfeather, I'm leaving. For good," Breezepelt murmured, turning away. "I'll never forget the way you saved my life. StarClan light your path."

Jayfeather, who had been sitting with his blind gaze lowered to the ground, suddenly straightened up before Breezepelt could leave. "Before you go . . . why don't you stay in the abandoned Twoleg nest for a while? I know it's not exactly open spaced, but if you really want to get to know me better, that's the only way possible I can think of."

Breezepelt looked back sharply, his ears twitching in surprise. "Why?"

Jayfeather shrugged. "Once I find out that you're trustworthy—and only if you want to—I could ask Bramblestar to let you stay in ThunderClan for a while."

Breezepelt purred softly, giving a running leap across the stream, clearing it easily. "All right, Jayfeather," he meowed. "Thanks." He started to move away, but then thought of something and leaned close to Jayfeather's ear, whispering something to quiet for Flamepaw to detect. Whatever it was, it made Jayfeather bristle and cuff Breezepelt over his ears with a sheathed paw.

Flamepaw's eyes widened, but he didn't leap out of the bracken, since Breezepelt just purred and loped away in the direction of the Twoleg nest, presumably. Flamepaw had never been there.

Jayfeather stood still for a few more long heartbeats, his tail flicking in annoyance. Whatever Breezepelt had said, it must have struck a nerve. But the gray tabby had still allowed him to reside at the nest. Why? What had made him change his mind? Some long lost memory of happier times? A wonderful kithood together? A . . . something?

Lost in confusion, Flamepaw didn't notice that Jayfeather had padded right up to the bracken he had been hiding in until it was too late. _Oh, yeah. . . . That's right. I'm supposed to be at camp. . . ._ Flamepaw scolded himself as he waited for Jayfeather to notice him. It didn't take long.

"Flamepaw! I told you to go back to camp!" his mentor growled, flicking his tail for his apprentice to come out. Reluctantly, Flamepaw stepped out, tail low and head down.

"I'm sorry, Jayfeather," Flamepaw mewed. "I wanted to make sure you'd be all right left alone with Breezepelt. I've heard how dangerous he is." He ventured a peek at Jayfeather, and saw that while he looked annoyed, his eyes had grown soft. "I, uh, I heard most of what you both said," Flamepaw added.

Jayfeather's eyes widened. "Everything?"

"Well, everything except what he whispered to you in your ear," Flamepaw mewed. Jayfeather nodded.

"Good." He started to turn away, but then looked back. "Oh; do you still have the comfrey root?"

Flamepaw nodded, darting back to the bracken and pulling out the roots. Jayfeather flicked his tail and they started to head back to camp. Flamepaw continued even when Jayfeather stopped, since he hadn't noticed yet. When he did, Jayfeather was sniffing intently at patch of grass on the ground near the stream.

Flamepaw trotted back over. Putting his roots down, he mewed, "Jayfeather? Something wrong?"

Before Jayfeather could answer, Squirrelflight emerged from the shadows of some trees. She padded up to Jayfeather, sniffing the ground as well. "Leafpool?" Squirrelflight murmured, glancing at Jayfeather.

The medicine cat nodded. "Mosspaw told me yesterday she saw her leaving the camp secretly when every cat was busy congratulating the new apprentices."

"Do you think she's . . ." Squirrelflight breathed, not wanting to say it aloud.

"I certainly hope not, but it's possible from the scent here," Jayfeather murmured.

"Uh . . . Jayfeather? What's wrong?" Flamepaw mewed, not wanting to interrupt them, but needing to understand what was going on.

"Sorry, Flamepaw. I can't tell you yet," Jayfeather meowed, straightening up and turning around with Squirrelflight. "Let's go back to camp."

**A/N: So! That wraps up chapter 2. Did anybody enjoy it? Hate it? Please tell, because I want to know! Oh, and can anyone guess what Leafpool's up to? Sounds to me like she's sick or something. I'm not exactly what's going on myself (not true; I just can't tell you), so don't expect me to say "You got it right!" I might say "yeah, you're close", or something, but what's the fun in showing you the surprise before the surprise party? Write out what you think in the review ^_^ It's not that hard.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, all! Yeah, I know, it isn't Sunday; in fact, it's Tuesday. But I got this chapter wrapped up quite early, so I decided to post it. I might be posting other before Sunday, so keep a look out!**

**Disclaimer: Yawn... I don't own Warriors. The squirrels do.**

Chapter 3

Mosspaw hesitated, debating whether or not to go inside the medicine den. It was possible Flamepaw was busy with Jayfeather, but she really wanted to see him. They hadn't talked with each other for two full days, and she missed him. It was comforting sleeping next to Redpaw, Bluepaw, and Birdpaw, but none of them were her littermates.

Finally, she gave up and pushed her way through the entrance, noticing Jayfeather sitting in front of Flamepaw while the apprentice spread out a few herbs.

Jayfeather's ears flicked towards her. He had obviously noticed her, but he wasn't making any movement to greet her. With a sigh Mosspaw sat down near the entrance and waited for Flamepaw to finish.

It didn't take long, as sorting herbs was quite easy. When Flamepaw had finished, Jayfeather turned his head in Mosspaw's direction, his blind eyes scorching her fur. "Yes?"

Flamepaw turned, surprise registering in his eyes. "Hi, Mosspaw."

Mosspaw dipped her head. "Hi, Jayfeather, Flamepaw. Mind if I talk with my brother for a few minutes, Jayfeather?"

Jayfeather narrowed his eyes and was silent for a few heartbeats. "Fine," he muttered. "But bring him back by sunset."

"Don't trust me to take care of myself?" Flamepaw teased, flicking his mentor with his tail. He stood up and followed Mosspaw out of the medicine den, glancing back once to see Jayfeather putting the herbs into the store.

They emerged into the clearing and Mosspaw noted the position of the sun. It was almost sunset. That wasn't fair.

Turning to Flamepaw, she sat down and wrapped her tail neatly around her paws. Even though greenleaf was approaching, and even though the sun hadn't gone down yet, evenings, nights, and mornings were still slightly cold.

"How's training as a medicine cat going?" Mosspaw asked, not a trace of unhappiness found in her voice. She was truly proud of her brother, even though she didn't have any siblings to sleep next to in the apprentices' den. "Is everything like you dreamed it would be?"

"It's great!" Flamepaw exclaimed. "I miss sleeping with other cats—you especially, Mosspaw—but Jayfeather and I get along fine. He's not as grumpy as he seems."

Mosspaw narrowed her eyes with a huff. "I remember a certain kit complaining of how mean the medicine cat was when he came in to give you herbs for your whitecough."

Flamepaw rolled his eyes. "That's different. So what did you do today? Do you enjoy being a warrior apprentice?"

"Yeah, it's pretty fun. It's a lot of work, though. Stalking seems to come naturally, but the positions are often difficult to master. I caught two mice today, but I was going for a robin and it saw me," Mosspaw growled.

"Mosspaw, I told you, you have to keep your tail still if you want to catch anything!" Lionblaze called from nearby, obviously having heard her comment.

"I couldn't help it! It was my first robin," Mosspaw shot back. Her eyes flashed, but they were gleaming with laughter.

"I see you and Lionblaze get along together as well," Flamepaw commented. "And don't worry about the robin; I'm sure Lionblaze lost lots of prey when he was an apprentice. Probably still does."

Mosspaw purred, turning back to her brother. "Lionblaze said he's going to show me the basic fighting moves tomorrow."

"Really?" Flamepaw pricked his ears, and Mosspaw frowned.

"You're not supposed to get excited about fighting, Flamepaw. You're a medicine cat," Mosspaw pointed out.

Flamepaw nodded, looking away. "I know. And I love everything about being a medicine cat. But . . . I don't know. The thought of fighting just seems to fill me with excitement and energy." He glanced up at the sky, noticing that the sun was about to set. "I'd better get back to Jayfeather, or he'll claw off my whisker."

"That's right! Now get over here!" Jayfeather called from inside the den.

Flamepaw rolled his eyes. Before he left, he meowed quickly to Mosspaw, "Isn't it interesting how we're both being mentored by siblings when we're siblings?"

Mosspaw stared at him. "I have no idea what you mean."

"You know, Jayfeather and Lionblaze are littermates, and you and I are littermates," Flamepaw explained.

"Oh . . ."

Standing up, Flamepaw pressed his muzzle briefly against Mosspaw's cheek. "See you tomorrow, Mosspaw." Mosspaw nodded distractedly, lost in her confusing brain again. Thoughts like "Why did Bramblestar make Lionblaze my mentor? Won't the other apprentices be jealous? Or are they already and just not showing it? When is the Gathering going to be happening? Will I be invited? Where'd Squirrelflight run off to? Come to think of it, where has Leafpool been these last few day?" were reeling around in her mind.

After a while, Mosspaw realized Flamepaw was gone, and she stood up. Padding over to the fresh-kill pile, she rooted around in it and found a small, tasty-looking thrush. Picking it up, she sat down by the tumbled rocks leading up to the leader's den to eat it.

Bramblestar leaped down the rocks a little after she had finished it. Now grooming herself, she looked in up mid-lick, her tongue slightly sticking out.

"Hey, Mosspaw," Bramblestar purred, giving his daughter a soft lick between her ears. "How's training going?"

"It's great! Lionblaze is going to teach me to fight tomorrow," Mosspaw exclaimed, leaning into Bramblestar. She loved her father so much. His leader duties had never stopped him from playing with her and Flamepaw frequently when they were kits. He had even snuck them out into the forest once, ending in the result of Squirrelflight finding out in a rage.

Bramblestar purred, rubbing Mosspaw's back with his tail. "I'm glad you're enjoying it." His voice faltered on the end as noticed Leafpool emerging from the thorn tunnel. He too had noticed Leafpool's many absences, but he hadn't said anything about it.

Father and daughter watched as Squirrelflight and Jayfeather suddenly padded over to Leafpool. The medicine cat's face was expressionless, but Squirrelflight's eyes betrayed worry. What could be wrong with Leafpool?

"Leafpool? Where have you been?" Squirrelflight meowed, stopping in front of her sister. "You've been away from camp a lot. Is something wrong?"

Leafpool looked confused for a heartbeat, but it cleared up after a moment. Mosspaw might have imagined it, but she thought she saw a flash of fear strike the brown she-cat's expression for a fleeting moment. It was gone almost as instantly as it arrived, so Mosspaw couldn't tell.

"No, nothing's wrong, Squirrelflight," Leafpool meowed, her voice calm. "I've just been a bit restless lately. I'm not sure why. I like to go down to the lake shore and watch the water; it seems to calm me."

Squirrelflight nodded and backed off, but it was clear that she didn't believe her. She padded towards the spot Bramblestar and Mosspaw were watching from. Bramblestar glanced at his mate, questions in his eyes. He flicked his tail, motioning to his den. Squirrelflight bounded up the rocks, and Bramblestar gently flicked Mosspaw across her ears in farewell.

Waving her tail goodbye, she trotted over to the apprentices' den and entered it to get some sleep.

Mosspaw was hunting. The forest around her had a soft green look to it, almost as it newleaf and greenleaf had been combined. All the trees and flowers were in bloom, like in newleaf, but the green was bright, sort of like what she imagined greenleaf would be, although she knew that wasn't how it would be like.

Scenting the air, Mosspaw caught the tantalizing smell of a mouse. She followed the trail to a bush circled around it. The mouse was hiding inside it, but before she could get it to come out, she noticed a cat sitting in the clearing beside her.

She had completely forgotten the mouse. Instead, her full attention was on the she-cat in front of her. The cat was certainly from StarClan, because stars danced in her black fur. But which cat was it? No cat had died in Mosspaw's lifetime.

As if in answer to her unspoken question, the black she-cat flicked her tail and meowed, "Greetings, Mosspaw. I am Hollyleaf."

Mosspaw's eyes grew wide. Hollyleaf, the sister of Lionblaze and Jayfeather? _The_ Hollyleaf that had died fighting for her Clan in the Great Battle was standing right in front of her?

Hollyleaf beckoned to Mosspaw again, and the awed apprentice slowly stepped forward. She sat down in front of Hollyleaf and raised her eyes with a questioning look.

Even without Mosspaw asking, Hollyleaf understood what she was trying to express. "I am here to give you a prophecy, Mosspaw. Listen closely."

Her tone grew darker as she meowed, "_Eight will come together to protect the forest from the terrible beasts that threaten the Clans._"

Mosspaw stared at her. She had just received a prophecy from a StarClan cat! A StarClan cat named Hollyleaf! Trying to focus, she gathered up what she had heard.

"I—I'm part of the eight, aren't I?" Mosspaw mewed, a sudden pang of fear shooting through her. She couldn't save the Clans from savage, evil beasts! She couldn't even catch a robin!

But Hollyleaf nodded, much to her discomfort. "Yes, Mosspaw, you are one of the eight." Flicking her tail, she led the apprentice to a small pool of water at the edge of the clearing. "Look into this pool, Mosspaw," she instructed. "It will reveal clues about the others."

Mosspaw slowly peered into the pool. At first she saw nothing, but then slowly, a form started shaping in the depths. Staring harder, she watched as a brilliant flash of light appeared. Mosspaw could see a long wall of fire. That was supposed to be a clue?

The next thing she saw was a beehive hanging from a branch high up in a tree. Mosspaw noticed particularly a small drop of honey as it swung back and forth and suddenly dropped.

The scene changed, and Mosspaw saw a forest at night, full of shadows. A single icicle followed it, hanging from a branch as high as the hive had been, if not higher.

Suddenly there was a massive amount of water. It was a flood! It drowned everything in its way, which was quite amazing to see, since the surface of the pool stayed unmoving.

It stopped abruptly and showed the surface of the lake with a cloud of fog settled just above it. Looking closer, Mosspaw could see thin water rising from the surface and making the fog thicker.

It swiftly changed, and the pool was left without any clues. Mosspaw looked over at Hollyleaf, confused. That had only been six clues. What was the seventh?

Hollyleaf nodded back at the pool, and Mosspaw turned to it, catching a blinding glare as it filled the entire pool. She gasped, shutting her eyes tight. After a few heartbeats, she peeked up at the sky, but green leaves blocked the view of the sky. She looked back down into the pool, her eyes narrowed to slits to hide the glare. It was the sun! That was the last clue.

The pool slowly returned to its normal cool green state, reflecting the treetops. Mosspaw blinked, running the clues through her head. A long wall of fire, a tiny drop of honey, or maybe it was the beehive, a shadowy forest at night, a single icicle, a pounding flood, fog rising from the lake, and a really bright sun. Those were the clues?

She looked over at Hollyleaf, and the black she-cat spoke again. "Find the rest of the cats at the next Gathering, Mosspaw. Don't worry about it too much until then."

"But what if I don't get to go to the Gathering?" Mosspaw cried. "My entire life will be ruined!"

Hollyleaf shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You will. Don't forget, I'm a StarClan cat. If I say you will, then it's best to just trust me and deal with it when the time comes."

Mosspaw sighed, nodding. "All right."

"It's time to wake up now," Hollyleaf meowed softly. She touched Mosspaw's forehead with her tail and faded from view.

Mosspaw's eyes blinked open. Amberpaw was standing over her, a concerned expression on her face. "Are you all right, Mosspaw?" she asked.

Mosspaw sat up, shaking scraps of moss from her fur. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Snowpaw heard you gasp, and I thought something might be happening in your dream," Amberpaw explained.

_He must've heard me gasp when I saw the sun,_ Mosspaw figured, blinking up at Amberpaw. "Don't worry, I'm fine. It wasn't a bad dream."

Amberpaw shrugged, going back to her nest. She curled up, falling asleep almost instantly. Snowpaw did the same.

Unable to sleep, Mosspaw got up and emerged from the den, spotting Flamepaw sitting outside the medicine den almost instantly. He was staring across the clearing with a faraway gaze.

She crossed over to him, having to wave her tail in his face before his expression cleared. "Oh, hi, Mosspaw," he purred. "I didn't see you there."

She sat down beside him, pressing up against his warm pelt. "What are you thinking about? You seem moons away," Mosspaw meowed.

Flamepaw shrugged. "Just thinking about medicine cats and StarClan."

Mosspaw nodded. It would be quite interesting to have dreams from StarClan. On the other paw, she herself had been given a prophecy. She thought about it again, wondering who the other cats could be. It was possible that Snowpaw could be the single icicle. And maybe Dewpaw was the fog rising from the lake. Maybe. Or maybe the other cats hadn't arrived yet. Were they yet to be born? If that were the case, then why had Hollyleaf said she would find them at the next Gathering?

Mosspaw started. "The Gathering is tonight!"

Flamepaw glanced at his sister. "Yeah . . . You forgot?"

Mosspaw flattened her ears momentarily. "I guess. I hope I get to go."

"So do I, although you're a new apprentice," Flamepaw reminded her. "Bramblestar might not let you come. I have an advantage since I'm a medicine cat, but hopefully Bramblestar will let us both come."

Mosspaw nodded. Then she might be able to find the rest of the cats. But how? There were many different cats in all the Clans, and what if the ones she was looking for weren't at that Gathering? Maybe she should be telling Jayfeather about the dream. Or was it wise to wait?

Shaking her head, she pushed the worrisome thoughts to the back of her mind. She'd deal with them tonight, just like Hollyleaf had said, and she'd tell Jayfeather and Bramblestar about the dream after the Gathering was over.

**A/N: So! That wraps up chapter 3. We figured out that Mosspaw can't catch robins, Flamepaw used to despise Jayfeather, and there's a prophecy concering his sister. Does anybody know who the other cats are? There is a possibility that some of the cats are in ThunderClan, so take some guesses when you review! R&R please :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay... I've rewritten chapter 4, and all I accomplished was making it 2 pages longer than the original, as well as twice as long than the other chapters. It may be long, but please R&R!**

**Robinfur15: I reworded it; sound better? Thanks for reviewing :)**

**meluvpie: Well... about Leafpool... could be possible. And about the names... 2 of the full names are correct (not telling which ones :D), and 7 of the first names are correct. Congratulations! You get a... Jayfeather plushie. Don't you feel privileged to get one? :P**

Chapter 4

Mosspaw blinked open her eyes, noticing she was in a lush green forest. She was obviously in a dream, but would StarClan come to see her again? She really liked Hollyleaf; it would be a shame to not see her whenever possible.

Looking around in all directions, Mosspaw decreed that there were no cats here yet, so she padded forward and suddenly noticed two cats standing among a group of StarClan cats. The two cats were unmoving and lifeless, but they had starshine in their fur, just like the StarClan cats. That, combined with the fact that they were standing freely, and the unnatural glow passing from the StarClan cats to them, made the scene very disturbing.

Mosspaw padded slowly and quietly forward, wanting to find out what was going on. What were the StarClan cats doing to their Clanmates? She had nearly reached them when a black she-cat backed away from the group, nearly running into Mosspaw. When the she-cat turned her head, Mosspaw saw the cat she had wanted to see the most.

"Hollyleaf?" Mosspaw whispered, glancing back to the two cats. One was a small scarlet coloured she-cat and the other was a strong gray tom. "What are you doing to these two cats?"

Hollyleaf kept her gaze on the two cats while keeping her ears pointed to Mosspaw. When she finally spoke, her tone was soft and quiet, with a distinct note of "don't repeat this to anyone who will blab".

"Those two cats are Rosethorn and Thorntail. They come from long ago, way before Firestar himself was born. While both cats were wonderful, their life together was a hard and trialing one, much more difficult than it needed to be. After they both arrived in StarClan, we decided to send them back to the forest for a hopefully better life.

"But that time never came. Now that the Clans are at the lake and the threat of the Dark Forest is gone, we have decided that this is when we shall send them back." Hollyleaf turned her gaze back to Mosspaw. "There are two other cats that were part of their group. They have already been sent to the lake territories, and it is up to you to find them."

"Me?" Mosspaw breathed. "Why? And how will I know when I see Thorntail and Rosethorn again?"

"Do not fear, Mosspaw," Hollyleaf murmured. "You'll know these two cats as soon as you see them. As for your first question, let Rosethorn and Thorntail help you. They won't have forgotten their best friends too easily."

"What are they going to do when they come to the lake?" Mosspaw asked. There weren't that many possibilities; either join a Clan, or become banned from them.

"That will be up to them," Hollyleaf answered. "But whatever happens, do not turn them down for anything they ask, unless it goes against Clan law."

"Am I allowed to tell Flamepaw?" Mosspaw mewed.

Hollyleaf's ears twitched, pointing back to the cats behind her. "That is up to you; you will partially be proclaiming their future by telling whoever you tell." She swept her tail in front of Mosspaw's face, draping it over her eyes.

When her tail was removed, Mosspaw opened her eyes, realizing she was back in her nest in the apprentices' den. She sat up slowly, hardly registering that Amberpaw was sleeping next to her.

Rosethorn and Thorntail were being sent to the lake territories? Something about the two cats made her feel drawn to them, but she wasn't sure what.

Mosspaw bared her teeth and pounced, claws extended. With a quick dodge, Lionblaze stepped out of the way, and she landed on the ground, stumbling slightly.

"Remember, you have to keep your opponent from knowing where you're going for," Lionblaze meowed, padding up to her. His whisker twitched with amusement as Mosspaw tripped on her paw. Helping her up, he flicked his tail towards camp. "Let's go back to camp now. Pretty soon we'll be getting ready for the Gathering, and I don't want you tired in case you're coming."

"You think I'll be able to come?" Mosspaw asked in surprise, glancing up at her mentor. A bramble snagged her fur briefly, and she growled, yanking it out.

Lionblaze shrugged, waiting for her to catch up. "Probably not. Well, you might, but apprentices don't usually get to go to a Gathering unless they've had more experience than you."

"Oh." Mosspaw watched as the camp entrance grew closer with every pawstep. If Lionblaze didn't think she'd be able to come to the Gathering, then she most likely wouldn't. On the other hand, Hollyleaf had basically _promised_ she'd be allowed to go, and she was a StarClan cat. _I guess time will tell which one is right,_ Mosspaw thought to herself, following Lionblaze through the thorn tunnel.

Birdpaw ran up to her as she approached the fresh-kill pile. "Mosspaw! Ivypool said we have to take fresh-kill to the elders," she meowed breathlessly.

Mosspaw glanced over at her mentor who nodded, selecting a squirrel for himself. "Go on, Mosspaw," he meowed, crouching down to eat it. "Feed the elders, then get something for yourself. When you're done, I'll let you know if you're coming to the Gathering or not."

Mosspaw nodded silently, following Birdpaw closer to the prey. She selected a small rabbit while Birdpaw grabbed a robin. They carried them over to the elders' den and entered, setting their fresh-kill down at the entrance. "Sandstorm? Dustpelt? Purdy?" Mosspaw called, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the slight darkness.

A rustling sounded, and the two apprentices saw Sandstorm emerge into the sunlight with the other two elders close behind.

"Good," Dustpelt growled. "Fresh-kill."

Sandstorm blinked at the two apprentices thankfully and leaned down to sniff the rabbit. "How's training going?" she asked, nudging the rabbit aside and settling for the robin.

"It's great!" Mosspaw and Birdpaw both exclaimed at the same time. They both looked at each other, surprised, and purred. Sandstorm glanced up at them, amusement glinting in her eyes.

"Was that planned?" she purred, taking a bite of the bird. She turned her head to watch Dustpelt edge as far away from Purdy as possible. He leaned closer to the rabbit to take a bite, glaring at Sandstorm when she purred.

"Mmmm," Purdy purred, gnawing on a bone of the rabbit. "These rabbits get better as they keep gettin' caught."

"I think you're losing your taste," Dustpelt muttered, even though he was enjoying the rabbit as well.

Before the elders' finished their meal, Mosspaw and Birdpaw dipped their heads and left to get their own fresh-kill.

Lionblaze was already gone, but Leafpool, Whitewing, Amberpaw and Cinderheart were at the pile now. Mosspaw squeezed in beside Amberpaw and Leafpool to sneak out a small mouse and pulled out again without either of them noticing hardly anything. Birdpaw grabbed a vole from beside Whitewing, deliberately keeping away from Cinderheart so she wouldn't get coddled like a kit.

Mosspaw tucked into her mouse beside Birdpaw, and they were both about halfway done when Lionblaze came up and stood in front of them.

"Mosspaw, you're coming to the Gathering," he meowed, glancing at Birdpaw.

Mosspaw choked on her bite of mouse. Even though Hollyleaf had told her she'd be going, it was still a bit of a shock to be told she was going, especially since she had only been an apprentice for four days.

"Am I going as well?" Birdpaw asked, flashing pleading eyes up to Mosspaw's mentor.

Lionblaze shook his head. "If you haven't been told by now, then you most likely aren't. Why don't you go ask Ivypool?"

Birdpaw nodded, finishing her vole and heading off to find her mentor. Mosspaw watched her go before turning back to her mentor. "Did Bramblestar say why I was coming?" she asked.

Lionblaze shrugged, glancing away. "Not really."

Mosspaw narrowed her eyes, not believing him, but she flicked her tail and stood up. "Okay." Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with Flamepaw. "Uh, can I help you?" she asked, backing up a bit.

Flamepaw shrugged. "Not really. Just came to see if you were coming to the Gathering. Sounds like you are." He watched as Lionblaze left, leaving the two siblings alone. "Why don't we go wait by the thorn tunnel?"

Mosspaw nodded and followed him to where cats were beginning to gather as they waited to leave. They sat down near the edge of the cats, and Mosspaw remembered her dream about Rosethorn and Thorntail. Should she tell _that_ dream to Flamepaw? Or should she wait as well? She was deciding their fate by deciding who she would tell. All this pressure on one little apprentice!

Finally, she came to the realization that while Flamepaw probably wouldn't tell, he might tell Jayfeather, who would tell Bramblestar, who would tell Squirrelflight, who would tell Leafpool, who probably wouldn't tell anybody, but by then, many cats would know about the two cats coming to the Clans, and that might not necessarily be a good thing!

Basically, she wasn't going to tell any cat.

Leafpool approached the group of cats and sat down nearby. Jayfeather emerged from the medicine den, scenting the air and suddenly snapping his head towards Leafpool. At nearly the exact same time, Bramblestar leaped down the rocks from his den with Squirrelflight behind him.

The two cats, medicine and deputy, both stared at Leafpool as if she were an intruder. Leafpool noticed them both, her son and sister, and glanced back and forth between the two before finally giving up and gazing straight ahead; which was where Flamepaw and Mosspaw were sitting.

"Hey, Leafpool!" Flamepaw yowled, attracting attention. He had probably done it on purpose, just to see what every cat's reactions were. Mosspaw cuffed him over his ears with a sheathed paw.

"What'd you do that for?" she hissed, standing up and padding over to Leafpool before he could answer.

She sat down beside the tabby she-cat, brushing her muzzle briefly against Leafpool's shoulder. "Why are Squirrelflight and Jayfeather staring at you as if you've done something wrong?" she asked, glaring at Flamepaw who was watching them.

Leafpool hesitated before answering. "Maybe they think I've done something wrong," she murmured. "Cats often jump to conclusions when they don't know the truth."

"So . . . you're not doing something wrong?" Mosspaw meowed, confused. "I saw you sneak out of camp on the day we were apprenticed."

Leafpool was silent for a few minutes. "You've heard about what Crowfeather and I did, right?"

Mosspaw nodded, kneading the ground anxiously.

"Squirrelflight and Jayfeather think I'm meeting him again."

"And you're not?" Mosspaw meowed, cocking her head slightly.

Leafpool glanced down at her, her face clean from any expression. "I'd hate to nurture a deep wound," she meowed simply, lifting her head again and glancing over at Jayfeather. "It's one my sons and Clan have taken a long time to forgive."

Mosspaw turned away, her eyes narrowed. Leafpool hadn't revealed anything! Her answers could go either way. If she really _was_ meeting up with Crowfeather again, why was she denying it? Because Mosspaw was an apprentice and couldn't be trusted? And if she _wasn't_ meeting Crowfeather, why not just say "no, I'm not meeting Crowfeather"? And if she wasn't meeting Crowfeather, then why had she snuck out of camp? Was she meeting Blackstar from ShadowClan?

Mosspaw shook her head, trying to rid her mind of those disturbing thoughts. No cat from a Clan not of ShadowClan would want to be near Blackstar. Not even Leafpool. Where had that thought even come from? _I have a really weird mind. . . ._ she thought.

Mosspaw glanced over at her brother, who wasn't in the spot he used to be. She looked over the cats waiting, trying to spot him. Instead, she saw Lionblaze, who was pacing over near the entrance. Purring, Mosspaw trotted over to him, waving her tail goodbye at Leafpool. The older she-cat didn't wave back; she was too busy washing her foreleg.

Once again, as Mosspaw pushed through the cats to get to her mentor, she wondered why Bramblestar had given _Lionblaze_ to her as her mentor. There were plenty of other cats that still hadn't had an apprentice, yet Bramblestar had chosen him for her. Was it because she was his daughter and he thought she was special?

Finally able to squeeze through the last cats to get to Lionblaze, Mosspaw sat down in the path of his pace. As he turned and started pacing towards her, he stopped in front, straightening up and staring blankly into her eyes. Regaining his composure, he sat down and licked a paw, drawing it over his face. "Yes, Mosspaw?" he asked.

Mosspaw shrugged, curling her tail neatly around her paws. "You're coming to the Gathering, too?"

Lionblaze nodded, shifting to giving his chest a few licks. "A mentor usually goes with his apprentice to a Gathering."

"Are any other apprentices coming?" Mosspaw asked, glancing around. She spotted Birdpaw sitting with Bluepaw, Redpaw and Snowpaw a ways away. Lilypaw and Seedpaw sat apart from them, scowling. The two sisters obviously weren't happy to be left behind.

"Uh, I think Amberpaw and Dewpaw are coming," Lionblaze meowed, his tone not convincing. But by the looks of things—Amberpaw and Dewpaw weren't with the other apprentices—he was probably right.

Suddenly, Bramblestar appeared with Squirrelflight beside him. They took their places in front of the thorn tunnel and the leader called the cats together. "Let's go, ThunderClan!" he yowled. All the cats rushed around, saying goodbye to the cats staying behind and rushing back to follow Bramblestar out into the forest.

Mosspaw was swept with the crowd of cats out the thorn tunnel. Being near the front, she found herself padding right behind Bramblestar and Squirrelflight. She let herself fall back once they were in the forest, stopping once she got to where Jayfeather and Flamepaw were.

"Hey, Jayfeather," she purred, brushing against Flamepaw. They started picking up the pace as the cats in front starting loping towards the WindClan border, and Mosspaw glanced at Jayfeather to make sure he wasn't tripping or anything.

The medicine cat must've guessed what she was thinking, because he turned his head to her. "I may be blind, but I'm not a mousebrain. I know my way around these forests just as good as you do, if not better."

Mosspaw rolled her eyes, picking up the pace until she was nearly in an all-out run. She slowed down once she got beside Amberpaw.

"Hi, Amberpaw," she purred, keeping pace with her denmate.

The gray she-cat nodded in return, flashing a playful look at her. "Doesn't it feel good to run?"

Mosspaw nodded, though she was starting to get tired. She could see the WindClan stream ahead of them, so she slowed down a bit to catch her breath.

By the time it was her turn to cross the stream, she felt ready to run again. She padded to the edge of the bank and looked across, judging the distance. She could _probably_ make it, but what if she slipped and fell into the water?

Mosspaw felt fur brush on either side of her, and she looked to her right to see Flamepaw crouched beside her, about to leap across as well. On her other side . . . there was nothing? Tasting the air, she could clearly scent a cat beside her.

Shrugging it off, she waggled her hips, getting ready to leap. When she pushed off, the 'something' beside her gave her an extra nudge, giving her just enough to clear the stream. Flamepaw landed beside her a heartbeat later. They both looked back, both puzzled at how they had managed to leap all the way over.

Mosspaw shook her head, thoroughly confused. "Come on, Flamepaw, let's go to the front and see if we can spot the island!"

Flamepaw nodded, and they both bounded off to the front of the group of cats. They passed Brackenfur, Hazeltail, and Dovewing as they raced past. They slowed down once they got to where Bramblestar and Squirrelflight were, now accompanied by Foxleap and Graystripe. Mosspaw watched excitedly as the island got closer and closer, until they were finally approaching the tree-bridge.

Before they got close enough to cross, Bramblestar turned his head to look behind his group of cats. "WindClan are behind us."

Mosspaw looked over her shoulder, wondering what cats from another Clan would look like. She was disappointed. They looked like normal cats, only faster than ThunderClan. The way they raced across the moor, sleek and faster than rabbits, made ThunderClan seem like clumsy badgers. _But,_ Mosspaw reminded herself, _ThunderClan cats are stronger than WindClan cats._

Mosspaw was still watching the fastest cats she had ever seen approach when she ran into Bramblestar. Turning back to her father, she looked up at him, expecting to see annoyance in his eyes. Instead, amusement lit his amber eyes, and he flicked his straight raised tail gently over her ears.

ThunderClan had stopped and was waiting for WindClan to catch up. As Mosspaw turned back to the approaching Clan, she noticed her mother watching Leafpool closely. Mosspaw followed Squirrelflight's line of vision and saw a nearly black tom pass Leafpool, brushing briefly against her before padding on with his Clanmates.

Mosspaw narrowed her eyes. That must've been Crowfeather, by the way he looked, and the way he had acted. _Was_ Leafpool seeing Crowfeather? And if she didn't want to stir up old memories that hurt, then why was she meeting a forbidden tom?

Mosspaw's eyes widened as the dark gray tom followed a small brown tabby tom over to Bramblestar. She pressed against Flamepaw, nervous about meeting cats from a different Clan.

The tabby dipped his head to Bramblestar. "Greetings, Bramblestar," he meowed formally as a gray she-cat joined them.

"Greetings, Onestar, Ashfoot," Bramblestar replied, glancing at the dark gray tom beside them. "Crowfeather."

Squirrelflight stood calmly beside Bramblestar, her gaze lingering on Crowfeather as she greeted the cats.

"Are these your kits?" the gray she-cat, Ashfoot, asked, nodding to the two siblings.

Bramblestar nodded proudly, lifting his head higher. "This is Mosspaw," he meowed, resting his tail on her head, "and this is Flamepaw," he finished, flicking the ginger tom gently across his ears. "Flamepaw's a medicine cat apprentice."

Crowfeather nodded to the two apprentices, fully aware that Squirrelflight was still staring at him. Finally, he looked over. "Yes?" he meowed, sounding annoyed.

"Nothing at all, Crowfeather," Squirrelflight meowed. "Been keeping _busy_ lately?"

Crowfeather didn't flinch. "Yes, though it's none of your business what I do or don't do, isn't it?"

Squirrelflight shrugged, narrowing her eyes. "Just speaking what's on my mind."

Flamepaw nudged Mosspaw, drawing her attention to him. "Have you noticed how Jayfeather and Squirrelflight always seem to be watching Leafpool closely whenever possible?"

Mosspaw nodded, thinking back to what Leafpool had said earlier. "I almost don't want to know why."

"_Almost_?" Flamepaw teased, turning his attention back to the two leaders.

Onestar flicked his tail, motioning to the tree-bridge. "Go ahead and take your Clan over first. We will follow."

Bramblestar dipped his head. "Thank you, Onestar."

Kinking his tail over his back, he started forward and leaped onto the tree-bridge. He started padding carefully across, his claws unsheathed and his tail raised to keep his balance. Flamepaw followed, steading himself for a moment before continuing, and Mosspaw jumped up after him. She dug her claws in deep when she felt the tree-bridge shake under Squirrelflight's weight.

Mosspaw was glad to get off on the other side, and she did so as gracefully as possible, which wasn't very graceful, as she snagged a claw on a branch when she leapt down. No cat seemed to be watching her, so she regained her composure and padded over to where Bramblestar and Flamepaw were standing.

Once all of ThunderClan had crossed, Bramblestar kinked his tail once more over his back and led the way through the trees to the center.

Mosspaw caught her breath at the sight of all the cats milling around in the clearing. Of to one side, there was a giant oak, the Great Oak, where the leaders sat. Shaking her head, Mosspaw tried looking for specific cats, like white ones, who might be part of the prophecy. How was she ever going to find them?

Perhaps she should start with the apprentices. Chances were, some of the other cats in the prophecy were apprentices like her. She turned to Flamepaw, but he had disappeared, most likely off to meet the medicine cats. Shrugging, Mosspaw set off on an almost desperate search for the warrior apprentices.

She spotted a group of younger-looking cats and eagerly headed over to them. On the way, Amberpaw and Dewpaw caught up to her. "Going to meet the other apprentices?" Amberpaw purred. Mosspaw nodded, already searching the group for any standouts. "Just remember to not reveal any important information."

The group of apprentices stopped talking when they noticed the newcomers. "Hey, Dewpaw!" a brown tabby tom called. Dewpaw purred and headed over to him, while Amberpaw stayed with Mosspaw.

"Every cat, I'd like you to meet Mosspaw," Amberpaw announced. "She's our newest apprentice!"

"Hi, Mosspaw!" a white she-cat exclaimed, jumping up excitedly. "I'm Icepaw!"

"And I'm Nightpaw," a black tom meowed in a more dignified manner. "That's my brother Wolfpaw." He nodded to a gray tom nearby. "My sister, Honeypaw, is a medicine cat."

Mosspaw glanced at the two cats, Nightpaw and Icepaw. Nightpaw had mentioned Honeypaw; could she be part of the prophecy? And Icepaw might be the single icicle!

"My name's Sunpaw," a voice meowed from behind. Mosspaw and Amberpaw spun around to see a handsome golden tom standing just behind them. "I'm new as well."

Sunpaw. The blazing sun at the end of the clues, perhaps?

"So your name is Mosspaw, is it?" Sunpaw meowed, padding around the tabby she-cat. She nodded, still trying to guess if he was part of the prophecy. "Do you know of any other cat with Moss at the beginning?"

Mosspaw shook her head. "I'm new, remember? I wouldn't know all the cats' names."

Sunpaw stopped winding around her and looked at the other apprentices. "Is there a Mosssomething in any of your Clans?"

Nightpaw and Icepaw shook their heads. The black tom stood up and padded forward, Icepaw at his heels. "I think we have something in common, don't you agree?" Nightpaw meowed quietly.

"You mean the—" Icepaw started, before she was cut off by a fierce glare from Nightpaw.

"Yes," he meowed. "That."

They were talking about the prophecy! So she was right; Icepaw and Sunpaw _were_ part of it. But where did Nightpaw fit in? _Oh yeah,_ Mosspaw remembered. _The shadowy forest and night. I was expecting a cat called Shadowpaw or something. On the other paw, is it possible for a cat to be called Shadow, Thunder, River or Wind?_

"Hello," Amberpaw meowed, her tone sounding as if she had been calling for ages. "Any cat going to tell me what you're talking about? Mosspaw?"

Mosspaw looked over at her Clanmate. How could she tell Amberpaw when she hadn't even told Jayfeather or Bramblestar? "Sorry, Amberpaw," she mewed quietly. "I can't tell you yet."

Amberpaw narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything. Nightpaw nudged Mosspaw, nodding to where the medicine cats where. "Let me take you to meet Honeypaw. She's part of it, as you could probably guess."

"Have you figured out the cat in your Clan, Icepaw?" Sunpaw asked. "My sister Mistpaw is the fog rising from the lake. She's a medicine cat as well."

Icepaw shook her head. "I think Waterpaw, my brother, might be the flood, but I haven't asked him yet. What about you, Mosspaw?"

Mosspaw started. All the clues had been taken up, except—

"Oh, I'm such a mousebrain!" she exclaimed, stopping in front of tree and banging her head against it. "Why didn't I think of Flamepaw before?"

"Maybe because you thought someone else was the path of fire?"

Mosspaw looked up. Flamepaw and three other apprentices were standing just ahead, most likely all medicine cat apprentices. "Mosspaw, meet Honeypaw, Mistpaw, and Waterpaw. I assume you'll know what I'm talking about when I say they're part of the dream?"

Mosspaw nodded, finally realizing that her own brother was part of the prophecy. "Nightpaw, Sunpaw, and Icepaw are as well."

Flamepaw nodded, glancing over at the Great Oak. "We'll have to meet somewhere else soon; the leaders are about to speak."

"Why don't we meet at the Moonpool?" Honeypaw suggested. "It's neutral territory, so no cat can object to us going there."

"Honeypaw, what's your Clan going to think when you and Nightpaw are gone?" Mosspaw meowed, thinking how she hadn't yet told Jayfeather or Bramblestar. She was determined to tell them before they met up again.

"Well, Littlecloud and Blackstar already know about the prophecy," Honeypaw explained, her whisker twitching. "Haven't you told your medicine cat and leader yet?"

Sunpaw flicked his tail dismissively. "We didn't have to tell Kestrelflight or Onestar. Kestrelflight told us all the medicine cats and leaders had a dream that told them about us."

"That's a relief," Mosspaw muttered. She hadn't been looking forward to telling her father that she was part of a prophecy.

"Then we'll meet at the Moonpool?" Honeypaw persisted, glancing from one cat to another.

"I guess so," Icepaw muttered. "You do realize I have no idea where it is, don't you?"

"Why don't we meet you at our border?" Sunpaw suggested. "We'll ask Kestrelflight how to get the rest of the way and travel together."

Waterpaw nodded eagerly. "Let's do it!"

A yowl from the Great Oak interrupted the eight apprentices, and they sat down, facing the leaders. All the noise in the clearing slowly died down as the four Clans calmed down to listen to the leaders.

Blackstar was standing on his branch, his white pelt clearly visible against the dark shadows of the tree. "All is well in ShadowClan, and prey is still running as good as ever," he started.

"I imagine leaf-bare was just as hard on ShadowClan as the rest of the Clan but he just doesn't want to admit it," Sunpaw hissed to Mosspaw. She purred, keeping her gaze on the massive leader.

"We have three new apprentices; Wolfpaw, Nightpaw, and Honeypaw. Toadfoot and Tigerheart are the two toms' mentors, and Honeypaw has decided to become Littlecloud's apprentice," Blackstar finished. He sat down and flicked his tail at Onestar.

Mosspaw noticed Dovewing a little ways away congratulating Tigerheart on his new apprentice. The dark tabby was her kin; Mosspaw shuddered at the thought of having kin in another Clan.

Onestar started speaking, his tabby coat flashing briefly in the moonlight. "All is well with WindClan as well, and we also have two new apprentices; Mistpaw and Sunpaw. Strangely, Mistpaw is Kestrelflight's apprentice, therefore the new medicine cat apprentice." Onestar glanced at the other leaders, a knowing look passing between them. "Sunpaw's mentor is—Sunstrike," he choked out, raising his head for a moment to regain his composure.

Sunpaw sighed and shook his head. "I honestly think Onestar made my mentor Sunstrike mostly because we both have Sun at the beginning of our names. I mean, she's a great mentor and all, but I don't think it's fair."

The other apprentices nodded and agreed, turning back to the WindClan leader, who was speaking again.

". . . gave birth to a kit, Flowerkit. And Bramblestar, my warriors scented ThunderClan scent on our side of the border right next to our stream. Do you know anything about it?"

Bramblestar looked surprised. "No, I don't. Thank you for telling me, Onestar. I'll make sure that cat is punished as soon as I get back to camp. Is that the only place you scented ThunderClan?"

"Yes, it seems the cat stayed there for some time and then left without doing anything. I know the cat didn't take any prey as far as I can tell, but he did cross our border," Onestar meowed. "Go ahead, Mistystar."

"Got any idea who it might be?" Sunpaw hissed, his voice not angry or anything, just curious.

Mosspaw shook her head, not wanting to give away the possibility that it might be Leafpool. Besides, Onestar had said _he_, which meant he didn't know if it was a tom or she-cat. That was good.

Mistystar stood up, flicking her tail a bit to get her balance. "The fish have fully come back to RiverClan, and we are well fed again. We have four new apprentices; Waterpaw, Icepaw, Duckpaw, and Slickpaw. They—" She was interrupted when Mosspaw heard Jayfeather suddenly speak.

"Hang on," he called. "Why does Willowshine have an apprentice? What happened to Mothwing?"

Leafpool, who was sitting nearby the eight apprentices, stood up immediately, her eyes wide as she studied the medicine cats. "Mothwing," she breathed, trembling.

Mistystar suddenly became sober. "There was an unusual outbreak of late greencough, but no cat died from it, except . . . Mothwing. Waterpaw wanted to become Willowshine's apprentice, and so we let him." A silent hush came over the clearing as each cat bowed their head in grief.

Mosspaw sidled silently over to Leafpool's side. She knew how close the older she-cat had been to RiverClan's medicine cat, and even though Mosspaw had never met her, she had great respect for that cat.

Leafpool wasn't moving, even as Mistystar continued speaking. "She didn't believe in StarClan," she murmured, unaware that Mosspaw was beside her. "Oh, Mothwing. I didn't get to say goodbye."

Mosspaw's eyes grew wide as she left quietly, sitting back down in her place between Honeypaw and Sunpaw. That was why Leafpool was so distraught. If Mothwing didn't believe in StarClan, then Leafpool would never see her again!

When Mosspaw glanced back up at the leaders, she noticed that Mistystar had sat down again and now Bramblestar was speaking. "We now have five new apprentices, my two kits, Mosspaw and Flamepaw, and Cinderheart and Lionblaze's kits, Bluepaw, Redpaw, and Birdpaw. Flamepaw is training to be a medicine cat. All is well in ThunderClan. That is all."

"This Gathering is over!" Blackstar yowled, and the four leaders scrambled out of the tree.

**A/N: And that, folks, wraps up chapter 4! Thanks to everyone for reading the whole thing thoroughly! And while you're at it, you should check out ShoutFinder's fanfic, Daughter of the Sun. It's good.**

**Now please review! If you do, I'll upload sooner! And in your review, please state which name you like better: Lilywhisker or Lilycloud? Seedfall or Seedspeck?**

**See you all next week or sooner! (Depending on whether you review or not...)**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: HI. Took me a whole week to finish this? Oh well...**

**You know, it was a whole week since I uploaded my last chapter, and how many reviews have I had since then? One. Oh wait, two. And yet many people have viewed it :(**

**Okay, enough about reviews.**

**Disclaimer: Seriously? Really? I have to go through this again? Oh, wait, I have to make up for last chapter. "I'm pretty sure everyone knows I don't own Warriors. And I don't. It belongs to Erin Hunter." There.**

Chapter 5

Flamepaw opened his eyes slowly, not necessarily wanting to wake up. They hadn't exactly gotten home early from the Gathering the night before, and he was still tired. Even though it had been the middle of the night, Bramblestar had seemed to know that most cats would be up waiting for them to get back, so he had called a meeting. No cat had confessed crossing the WindClan border, but Squirrelflight had exchanged a glance with Jayfeather. At least, as much a glance as was possible—Jayfeather's sight hadn't changed.

As Flamepaw lay curled up in his nest, he suddenly remembered that he and Mosspaw would be traveling to the Moonpool that night. Suddenly excited, he jumped to his paws and stretched, yawning as he clawed the ground.

Jayfeather hadn't called him yet, so Flamepaw decided to grab a quick bite to eat. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a vole. He sat right down where he was and paused a moment to savor the smell emanating off of it. Before he could take a bite though, Jayfeather trotted up.

"I'm going to the abandoned Twoleg nest, Flamepaw. Tell Bramblestar I went out collecting herbs, all right? Thanks." He turned and left before Flamepaw could protest or even ask to go with him.

Flamepaw stared after his mentor as he pushed his way through the thorn tunnel. Finally, after he'd been watching the entrance for a long time as he was expecting Jayfeather to come back, he leaned down and started to take his first bite of the vole. But once again, something interrupted him.

"Where's Jayfeather off to?"

Flamepaw growled under his breath, looking over his shoulder to see Blossomfall standing behind him, her tail held high and happily. _Well she's certainly in a good mood,_ he thought, pushing away his anger and facing the she-cat.

"Jayfeather left to collect some herbs," he explained, glancing ruefully back at his vole. It looked so tantalizing, so—

"Shouldn't you be going with him?" Blossomfall asked, sounding like a stern mentor asking her apprentice if he ate the vole.

"I don't know. He just told me where he was going and left," Flamepaw meowed indignantly. _Don't blame me! I would've gone if he'd asked, and now I just want to eat my vole!_

Blossomfall rolled her eyes and sighed, looking back over at the thorn tunnel. "Well, when he gets back, tell him I'd like to be checked over, okay?"

"Sure!" Flamepaw purred in mock sincerity. "Mind telling me what you're getting checked for?" he meowed, trying not to sound impatient.

Blossomfall glared at him, wearing his patience down even more. "For kits," she meowed simply.

"Fine," Flamepaw sighed. He didn't bother asking her who the father was; frankly, he didn't care, and she probably wouldn't even tell him if he asked. So he turned back to his vole and finally was able to take a bite. _Tastes like it was from yesterday,_ he thought to himself. _Why didn't I pick a fresh one? Maybe because no cat has gone hunting yet. That's ridiculous! It's way past dawn!_

Pushing away the toughness in the vole, he polished off half of it before a playful yowl distracted him. He was about to turn and see what was going on when he was bowled onto his side by a flash of blue and brown fur and pushed to the bottom of the fresh-kill pile. The little remnant of his vole had been trampled at the same time, leaving it basically uneatable. Bristling with rage, Flamepaw leaped to his paws to confront the cat that had ruined his meal.

On his paws, he saw Bluepaw and Birdpaw chasing Redpaw and Mosspaw teasingly in a large circle around the clearing. With a growl, he stalked over to the two she-cats, thoroughly ignoring his sister and the tom with her.

Planting himself directly in front of Bluepaw and Birdpaw, Flamepaw fixed them with a cold stare. "Do you have a reason for shoving me into the fresh-kill and destroying my meal?" he growled slowly.

Bluepaw tipped her head to one side, an amused expression written all over her face. "Aw, did we disturb your peaceful breakfast?" she purred, mocking him. The glint in her eyes was clearly daring him to take up her silent challenge. Flamepaw flexed his claws, not about to back down. He might be a medicine cat, but he knew battle skills as good as the next warrior, even though he'd never had any training. That was the only part of him that had warrior-likeness; the rest of him was fine with being a medicine cat—grateful, even.

Birdpaw moved up closer to her sister, a defiant look on her face. She was obviously expressing that if Flamepaw was going to fight, he'd be doing it against two cats, not one-on-one. Flamepaw rolled his eyes and arched his back, waiting for one of them to make the first move. No cat had bothered to teach him battle skills—since from the very time he had ever thought about it, he'd known he was destined to be a medicine cat—so he had made a few of his own. Now was the perfect time to test them out.

Mosspaw backed away, beckoning for Redpaw to follow her. Experience had taught her that Flamepaw could be close to dangerous when he was like this, and there was next to nothing that would stop him. A sudden burst of freezing water might make him stop, but it wasn't like any cat could control the weather.

"ThunderClan cats have bothered me for the last time today!" Flamepaw hissed, keeping his claws sheathed. Although he was yearning to wipe the smug look of both the she-cats' faces, he knew it would be a bad reputation to bear. "All I wanted was to eat my vole in peace, not be interrupted every time I try to take a bite," he continued, uncontrollable fury dripping out on his words. It was probably wrong to get so riled up about a frivolous thing like prey, but he couldn't control it. "And the last cats to bother me were you; you will both pay."

Bluepaw and Birdpaw glanced at each other, both hosting confused expressions. They were quickly replaced with defiant looks again, and they squared up for round one. Flamepaw bared his teeth confidently. One round should be enough to teach them a lesson.

Bluepaw arched her back, keeping her claws sheathed. They all knew the consequences of fighting with claws unsheathed in camp.

Signalling to Birdpaw with her tail, Bluepaw started circling around so she could get behind Flamepaw. Birdpaw stayed where she was, taunting Flamepaw with little scrapes and nips.

Flamepaw moved sideways so he was able to view both she-cats at the same time. Bluepaw tried moving around behind him again, but he whipped around and faced the two, now that they were side by side. Instead of waiting for one of them to pounce, he lunged at Bluepaw, butting her over with his head and instantly springing back. Bluepaw growled, trying to trip him as he leaped back, but she was too slow from the surprise of the attack.

Birdpaw advanced cautiously, padding forward slowly, all muscles on the alert in case Flamepaw struck out. At the last instant, she rushed forward, grappling Flamepaw and wrestling him to the ground. He yowled, shoving his back legs between the two of them and kicking as hard as he could. Even though his force had been quite strong, Birdpaw's grip was strong as well, and she barely released him. It gave him enough time to leap up once more, though.

Focusing once more on Bluepaw, who was back on her paws—all the while keeping an ear on Birdpaw—Flamepaw leaped into the air, aiming for Bluepaw's back. She saw this and moved forward, but Flamepaw had been expecting this. Landing on his front paws, he spun around as much as possible and leaped onto the surprised she-cat's back.

Bluepaw hissed, feeling the slight prick of his claws in her skin. She leapt into the air and twisted, trying to get him off, but somehow he managed to stay on top. Once she landed, he leaned to one side, making her lose her balance. He leaped off, barely escaping the roll she was about to do and spun around, battering her exposed belly with sheathed paws. Birdpaw yowled and bundled into him, paws outstretched, pushing him away from her sister.

Flamepaw turned on her, grabbing her by her scruff and dragging her in a circle. He let go of her and pushed Bluepaw back to her side, who had risen and was about to join in. She yowled, waving her paws wildly as she tried to hit a spot, any spot, on him, but it was all to no avail.

Birdpaw couldn't do anything to help. Every time she tried approaching, Flamepaw had turned and lashed out a paw, immediately turning back to his quarry. Finally, Bluepaw gave up. "Okay, okay! You win. I'm sorry."

Flamepaw let her get up, giving her a quick hiss before he stalked over to the medicine den. As he passed Mosspaw, who had watched the whole exchange with proud eyes, he noticed that about half of the Clan had gathered, Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, and Lionblaze included. Ignoring them, he entered the medicine den to groom out the ruffles in his pelt that the fight had inflicted.

Once he was done, he looked around for Jayfeather, before remembering that he had gone to get catmint, or as he had said, "collecting herbs". That also reminded him that he had to tell Bramblestar, so he got up and left the den.

Upon entering the clearing, he saw that Bluepaw and Birdpaw had rounded up the other apprentices expect Mosspaw and Redpaw. Seedpaw, Lilypaw, Amberpaw, Dewpaw, Snowpaw, Bluepaw, and Birdpaw. Seven apprentices, all lined up to fight him at the exact same time? It was obvious the two she-cats wanted a rematch, but he wasn't in the mood anymore. Time to do his duty as a medicine cat.

The apprentices had formed a force field near the entrance of camp, obviously thinking he was going to go out into the forest. As he passed them, he glanced at them, making sure surprise was the only thing registering on his face. "Shouldn't you be out _battle_ training?" he asked innocently, trotting on up the rocks leading to Bramblestar's den. He heard a few hisses behind him, but he didn't look back as he stood in front of the entrance and called out.

"Come in," Bramblestar answered.

Flamepaw entered and was surprised to see not only Squirrelflight, who was usually with Bramblestar, but Mosspaw and Lionblaze as well. He dismissed them without another thought and turned to Bramblestar.

"Jayfeather told me to tell you he was going out looking for herbs, Bramblestar," Flamepaw meowed, suddenly stopping to think back. "Or was it a specific herb?" He couldn't very well say he had gone to collect catmint, even if it meant lying to Bramblestar. It wouldn't hurt him to not know.

"So he didn't say where he was going?" Bramblestar asked, with a glance at Squirrelflight, who was anxiously flexing her claws. Flamepaw had no idea why, and didn't intend to ask anytime soon.

"Nope. He's just gone collecting herbs."

"Okay," Bramblestar murmured. Lionblaze shook his head, seeming not worried about Jayfeather. After all, why would he be? Jayfeather _was_ a medicine cat, and medicine cats _did_ go out occasionally to collect herbs. On the other paw, it probably was weird that Flamepaw hadn't gone with Jayfeather and that his mentor had wanted him to tell Bramblestar he was going out. Jayfeather rarely ever told any cat where he was going.

Changing the subject, Lionblaze turned his gaze onto Flamepaw. "Those were some pretty good fighting moves out there, Flamepaw," he meowed, and Mosspaw nodded eagerly. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Flamepaw shrugged, confused. The moves had come naturally to him. "I don't know. I just knew them."

Squirrelflight and Lionblaze both looked confused. How could a medicine cat learn battle moves on his own? Flamepaw stifled a purr; it was pretty weird.

Mosspaw crept up to Flamepaw's side, leaning forward to whisper in Flamepaw's ear, "I think it's because of the prophecy. You've always been naturally able to fight, even when you were a kit. If we're going to have to fight beasts, you're going to need every battle skill you have."

Flamepaw glanced at her, surprised. He had never considered that, but it made complete sense. A glance at Bramblestar confirmed that he was thinking the same thing. Flamepaw shrugged again. He didn't want to make himself known to the Clans that he was destined to save them just yet.

Lionblaze shook his head, clearing his thoughtful gaze. "We'd better get hunting if we want to be back before sundown," he meowed, standing up and brushing past Flamepaw as he approached the entrance. Mosspaw stood up as well, pausing by Flamepaw's side.

"What's going on at sundown? Isn't sundown a long ways away?" she asked, pushing past Lionblaze to check the position of the sun. "It's just barely sunhigh."

"I'm making Lilypaw and Seedpaw warriors at sundown," Bramblestar explained, pausing before he added, "I think." The two sisters had a strange reputation for getting in trouble.

"Time passes quickly when you're hunting," Squirrelflight purred, standing up as well. "Mind if I come along?"

"Of course we mind, deputy," Lionblaze spat, baring his teeth. "It would be a tragedy if my apprentice messed up while you were watching."

Mosspaw suddenly pounced on Lionblaze's back, pricking him with her sharp claws. He staggered under the weight, nearly collapsing. "Okay, okay, Squirrelflight can come," he purred, shaking her off and flicking his tail. "Let's collect Amberpaw and Dovewing as well."

"Don't I get to come as well?" Bramblestar mewed, rushing forward to block the entrance. "If the deputy's going, then the leader should as well."

Flamepaw sighed, watching the full grown warriors act like kits. It was agonizing to see, and he just wanted to get away from it, so he stood up and pushed past them, bounding back down the rocks and coming to a halt in front of the apprentices once again. For some reason they had decided to wait for him. Flamepaw sighed, shaking his head. _Bluepaw and Birdpaw just don't give up, do they?_

Flamepaw heard the patrol coming down the rocks behind him, but he didn't move. Unsheathing his claws warningly, he advanced slowly, having to give Lilypaw a quick scratch on her nose when she wouldn't move. The tortoiseshell she-cat yowled, pawing her nose and glaring at Flamepaw as he padded past.

Bluepaw gaped at the eldest apprentice. "You didn't even fight back? What kind of warrior—apprentice—are you?"

Leaving the warriors to deal with the apprentices, Flamepaw rolled his eyes and trotted into the medicine den, making up his mind to see if he could tell which herb was what.

Upon entering, he padded straight to the herb store at the back, meowing a greeting to Briarlight. The she-cat was actually still sleeping, or maybe resting, in her nest. She raised her head and dragged herself effortlessly over to him. "Need anything?" she asked, motioning to the herb store.

"No, but you could help me," Flamepaw meowed, explaining what he was planning. Briarlight nodded, pulling herself forward enough to reach into the store.

Flamepaw watched her pull out a couple large leaves and lay them in front of him. "Okay. What are these and what are they for?" she meowed, leaning down to quickly sniff a leaf.

"Uh . . ." Flamepaw stared at the brown she-cat in confusion. Briarlight looked up at him and shook her head, as if to say, "What?"

"Those are beech leaves," Flamepaw meowed slowly. "They don't do anything."

"Then why does Jayfeather keep them in the herb store?" Briarlight asked pointedly.

"In case he needs to drag around a bunch of herbs. . . ."

"Right," Briarlight purred, gathering up the leaves and pushing them back into the store. Before she could pull out anything else, she glanced back over Flamepaw's shoulder. He followed her gaze to see Jayfeather standing behind them, an amused expression on his face and catmint in his jaws.

"Oh, hey, Jayfeather," Briarlight purred, sticking her head all the way into the store. Almost instantly she popped back out. "You should've seen Flamepaw fight earlier. He managed to beat both Bluepaw and Birdpaw all at once."

Flamepaw glanced at Briarlight. He hadn't realized she had been watching, too. Jayfeather padded forward to set down his catmint in front of the store, straightening back up. "Prophecy abilities?" he murmured quietly, so quiet that only Flamepaw could hear. A yowl from the clearing prevented Flamepaw from replying, and the two medicine cats left the den to see what was going on.

Flamepaw gasped, seeing Mosspaw leaning against Lionblaze as she limped into camp. The other cats from the patrol followed, all casting anxious and worried glances at the young apprentice. There was blood trailing behind Mosspaw, and her right forepaw was all red.

Jayfeather moved towards the two cats, trading places with Lionblaze. "What happened?" he asked quietly. Mosspaw gritted her teeth in pain, and Flamepaw clawed the ground, feeling helpless.

"Fox trap," Lionblaze meowed flatly.

"Get some cobwebs and horsetail ready, Flamepaw," Jayfeather directed, turning his full attention back to Mosspaw. Flamepaw raced back to the medicine den, barely stopping himself from crashing into Briarlight, who had been watching from the entrance.

"Sorry," he muttered, brushing past her to squeeze between the rocks into the herb store. Once inside, he wrapped plenty of cobwebs around his foreleg and tried to figure out which one was horsetail. Finally he grabbed what he assumed was horsetail and emerged back into the den area. Mosspaw had arrived with Jayfeather, and she collapsed on the ground.

Flamepaw set the horsetail down in front of Jayfeather, waiting for instructions. Briarlight watched from the edge of the den, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"Clean off Mosspaw's paw and make sure there's no dirt on it," Jayfeather meowed, leaning down to chew the horsetail into a paste. Flamepaw crouched in front of Mosspaw and started licking her paw, wincing at the salty taste.

After a few moments, Jayfeather nudged Flamepaw aside and applied the paste on her paw. When he was finished, he turned to Briarlight. "Poppy seeds?"

Briarlight was ready, stretching her paw forward for Mosspaw to lick the seeds off. Jayfeather watched, satisfied, and turned to Flamepaw. "Take her to your nest for some rest as she sleeps off the poppy seeds."

Flamepaw nodded, and guided his sister over to his nest. Within heartbeats, Mosspaw was asleep.

* * *

Flamepaw sat beside Jayfeather and Briarlight as the Clan started to gather in the clearing. Lilypaw and Seedpaw were about to become warriors, and there was nothing Flamepaw could do to stop it. Purring, he wondered why he wanted to stop two apprentices from becoming warriors. Probably because they were always looking down on the younger apprentices and would get even worse when they were warriors.

Mosspaw padded past the three cats, suddenly swarmed by the other apprentices, all asking how she was. They guided her over to an empty spot where they all sat down.

Whitewing and Birchfall sat down a little ways from Flamepaw, with Leafpool, Poppyfrost, Cinderheart, and Berrynose following. Lionblaze emerged just behind Cinderheart, abandoning the group to see Mosspaw.

Cloudtail led the two apprentices over to just below the Highledge. The she-cats' pelts had been groomed to perfection and were all glossy. Hazeltail followed just behind them with Sorreltail and Brackenfur trailing after. The proud mother and father sat down with Whitewing and the others, and Leafpool flicked her tail at Sorreltail's flank, silently congratulating her.

Once the Clan had gathered, Bramblestar leaped down the rocks from the Highledge to stand before Seedpaw and Lilypaw. Flamepaw felt a strange relief that the two apprentices weren't allowed the glamour of looking down at the Clan from up on the Highledge.

"Cloudtail, Hazeltail, are you satisfied that your apprentices are ready to become warriors?" Bramblestar asked, glancing at the two mentors. They both nodded, and Bramblestar turned back to the apprentices.

"I, Bramblestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Seedpaw and Lilypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Lilypaw and Seedpaw both raised their heads proudly and meowed, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Seedpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Seedspeck. StarClan honors your courage and independence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Bramblestar rested his muzzle on Seedspeck's head, and she licked his shoulder.

Bramblestar turned to Lilypaw.

"Lilypaw, from now on you shall be known as Lilycloud. StarClan honors your determination and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He did the same to Lilycloud, and she licked his shoulder as well.

"Seedspeck! Lilycloud! Seedspeck! Lilycloud!" ThunderClan chanted.

Flamepaw and the other apprentices chanted half-heartedly, not exactly happy that they were now warriors. At least Seedspeck and Lilycloud wouldn't be able to boss him around as much as they could the warrior apprentices.

As soon as the Clan stopped cheering, Bramblestar announced, "Lilycloud and Seedspeck must now sit vigil and guard the Clan." The two new warriors glanced at each other, excited beyond mention. Flamepaw sighed, brushing past them with a nod, and approached Mosspaw.

"Seedspeck and Lilycloud are going to be sitting vigil when we leave for the Moonpool," he commented aloud. Mosspaw nodded, flinching under the suspicious glares of the other apprentices.

"We'll find a way," she mumbled, turning to head into the apprentices' den. Flamepaw watched the other apprentices follow her, all wanting answers. Feeling a little guilty at not thinking before he spoke, he decided to take a nap before they left for the Moonpool.

**A/N: Well, not many people told me which name they like better, so those are the results c_c**

**Please review! -big, sad puppy eyes- Even if to say yeah, it's great, or come on, that was awful! Although I'd prefer for everyone to keep their flames to themselves. It might destroy you, but honestly, if you've ever been flamed, then you'll know what I mean. Constructive criticism is welcome.**

**Watch for chapter 6! It might take a while; for the next half of the week I'll be busy. In that case, Happy New Year's! 2013...**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well... I passed Sunday :) Being away for a full day and then losing my Internet the next was not part of my plan. Anyway, I've decided to just update whenever I can; that way I won't have to be set for a specific deadline that I might not be able to meet (I'm terrible with deadlines).**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors; just the few itty bitty really important characters.**

Chapter 6

Mosspaw finished burying the remains of her mouse—which seemed to be her favourite prey right now—and padded back out of the dirtplace tunnel. As she gazed around her camp, she sighed in contentment. No Clan was better than ThunderClan.

Shaking herself, she started over to the medicine den. Hopefully Flamepaw would be in there, and they'd be able to take off to the Moonpool. The only trouble, of course, was where exactly _was_ the Moonpool?

Mosspaw cautiously entered the medicine den, noticing that the brambles at the entrance were growing thicker. Greenleaf was definitely on its way.

Once inside, she noticed that Flamepaw wasn't there. Disappointed, Mosspaw fully entered and padded slowly over to Jayfeather who was kneading a packet of herbs together.

"Jayfeather?" she asked, watching as he kept his concentration on the herbs.

"Mmm?" came the annoyed answer.

"Where did Flamepaw go? We're supposed to go to the Moonpool tonight," she explained, stepping back as Jayfeather finished the mixture and got up to grab a leaf. As he started placing the herbs in the leaf, he answered.

"I sent him with some mouse bile to the apprentices."

"You sent Flamepaw to check apprentices for ticks?" Mosspaw asked incredulously. "Isn't that something apprentices do for themselves?"

Jayfeather stopped, having finished placing the herb mixture on the leaf. He raised his head, his whiskers twitching slightly. "I sent Flamepaw to give the apprentices mouse bile so the apprentices could check the elders. Dustpelt was complaining again today."

Mosspaw narrowed her eyes and looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. Jayfeather leaned down and picked up the leaf wrap, taking it over to Briarlight who was sleeping lightly in her nest. Setting it down in front of her, he reached out a paw and poked her a few times on her head.

"Jayfeather."

Jayfeather flicked his ears back to Mosspaw, not turning.

"How do we get to the Moonpool?" she asked, scraping the ground with a claw.

"Why do you need to go to the Moonpool?" a voice asked from behind. Mosspaw turned around, but no cat was there. She stood up and padded over to the entrance, relaxing when she saw Flamepaw just entering.

"Why would you ask such a question, Flamepaw?" Mosspaw snapped, suddenly realizing he had asked a ridiculous question. "You, of all cats, should know the best!"

Flamepaw shook his head slowly, confusion in his eyes. It was soon replaced with laughter when his gaze focused on something behind Mosspaw. "I didn't ask that," he purred. "_He_ did." Flamepaw nodded to whatever he was looking at, and Mosspaw looked over her shoulder.

"Snowpaw? How did you get in here?" Mosspaw asked, padding up to him and looking him up and down. Did he have some special power to be invisible? That didn't really make any sense; wasn't _she_ the one in the prophecy?

"I entered when you turned around," Snowpaw meowed casually, as if sneaking behind a Clanmate's back was something every cat did now and then. Maybe it was.

"So why are you going to the Moonpool?" he persisted, sitting down and glancing behind Mosspaw to Flamepaw. "I thought only medicine cats went?"

"Oh, well . . ." Mosspaw hesitated. She couldn't very well tell Snowpaw she was part of a prophecy and going to meet apprentices from other Clans.

"They're not going to the Moonpool," Jayfeather meowed suddenly. The three apprentices looked at him, surprise in all their eyes. "They're just going to fetch an herb for me that's near the Moonpool."

"Then why are they going when it's dark?" Snowpaw asked. He didn't seem to believe Jayfeather, but the medicine cat didn't flinch.

"I find the herb is better found at night," Jayfeather meowed calmly, turning back to Briarlight, who was slowly chewing her herbs with a scrunched up face. "I should put in some heather nectar next time," he mumbled, turning away and retreating farther into his den. Before he disappeared, he looked back over his shoulder and meowed, "Follow the WindClan stream downstream. You'll see some rocks sloping upward. Climb those, and when you get to the top, that's where it is."

Mosspaw noticed he hadn't mentioned the Moonpool, just said "it". Calling "thanks" over her shoulder, she followed Flamepaw out of the medicine den, leaving Snowpaw behind, who had decided to visit Briarlight.

The two apprentices padded over to the entrance of the camp, stopping simultaneously when they spotted Lilycloud and Seedspeck sitting vigil just outside the tunnel. Flamepaw hissed to Mosspaw, "So did you think of a way we could get by them, _other_ than using the dirtplace tunnel?"

Mosspaw thought for a few minutes. Two really annoying, newly-made warriors sitting vigil were going to be hard to pass. . . .

"They're sitting vigil!" Mosspaw purred, flicking her tail from side to side excitedly. After a glance at Flamepaw's "I know" look, she elaborated. "Lilypaw—eh, cloud—and Seedspeck can't talk; they're sitting vigil! According to tradition, they won't be able to ask us where we're going because they have to stay silent!"

Flamepaw nodded slowly, then started padding into the tunnel, Mosspaw following closely behind. They emerged out the other end, padding through the two sisters as casually as possible. Before they could escape, the two warriors had jumped in front of them. Seedspeck opened her mouth to speak, but Mosspaw lashed out a sheathed paw and gently whacked her on the side of her head. "You're holding a silent vigil, remember?" she chided, glaring up at Seedspeck. "That means you have to stay _quiet_," she meowed slowly, speaking as though she were explaining something to a kit. She motioned to Flamepaw, starting to pad away. "Let's go!"

Flamepaw caught up to her and nudged her side, nodding back to the two dumbfounded warriors. Mosspaw looked back and suppressed a purr; the identical looks of astonishment on Seedspeck and Lilycloud's faces were priceless!

Soon enough, Mosspaw and Flamepaw reached the stream. Mosspaw had to stop quickly when Flamepaw—who was in front—stopped with no warning. He moved away and leaned down to sniff a patch of grass, his gaze intensifying as he raised his head to stare across the stream and into WindClan territory.

Mosspaw padded over and sniffed the grass as well, recognizing a familiar scent as well as a not-so-familiar-but-still-recognizable scent.

_I guess it's true, then. I wonder why they would go to the extent of this?_

Giving herself a shake, she brushed against Flamepaw as she started padding downstream. "Come on, Flamepaw, we'd better get going if we want to make it in time to meet the others," she called, stopping as she waited for her brother to catch up. "There's nothing we can do about them."

Flamepaw sighed, trotting over to her. They kept up the pace as they followed the stream, sometimes having to wind around bushes or rocks before continuing on their path. Before long, Mosspaw spotted two cats up ahead. "Look! Honeypaw and Nightpaw!" she purred to Flamepaw. They picked up their pace, skidding to a halt beside the two ShadowClan apprentices.

Honeypaw was staring into the stream, watching the water flow down to the lake. Mosspaw joined her, hearing an exaggerated sigh coming from Nightpaw.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, staring down at the water too. The stars above reflected in the stream, making it sparkle in the bright moonlight.

Honeypaw shrugged, finally looking up. "We were waiting for you, so I thought I'd see what stars looked like in this stream. Our stream—part of the boundary between ShadowClan and ThunderClan—is blocked by trees, so the stars don't shine in it."

"Can't you look in the lake?" Mosspaw asked, wondering which star was Hollyleaf.

"Yes, but the lake hardly moves, and I wanted to see stars in a stream," Honeypaw purred, glancing over her shoulder at the two other apprentices. "I guess we'd better get going now."

Mosspaw padded slowly beside Flamepaw, who was now padding alongside the bank of the stream. She glanced at the water, wondering if it was cold. Honeypaw dropped back to pad alongside her, and Mosspaw suddenly got a brilliant idea. She leaned closer to Honeypaw and whispered her idea to her, and to her delight, Honeypaw nodded excitedly and trotted back up to Nightpaw.

"Hey, Nightpaw," she meowed, stopping by the edge of the stream again. Nightpaw glanced back, and, with a small sigh, padded back to his sister. Flamepaw and Mosspaw stopped beside them too, the two she-cats giving each other knowing looks.

"Yeah?" Nightpaw asked, holding out a paw to dab it in the water. "We're going to be late if you keep holding us up."

"Oh, what's the harm in being late?" Honeypaw exclaimed, raising her paws and shoving Nightpaw into the water. Purring, Mosspaw did the same to Flamepaw, and the two toms resurfaced with a yowl.

"That water's cold!" Flamepaw hissed, standing up and shaking himself. The water came up past his chest, so it didn't do much good. "Let's get them!" he added, getting a nod of approval from Nightpaw.

Before they could climb out of the water, Mosspaw and Honeypaw gave a running leap and cleared the stream by a mousetail. They nearly collided with four other cats—Waterpaw, Icepaw, Mistpaw, and Sunpaw, to be exact.

Waterpaw and Sunpaw both raced over to the bank and helped Nightpaw and Flamepaw out. The four she-cats all started racing away before the toms could start themselves, needing to gain a head start so they wouldn't be punished too severely once the toms caught up.

Mosspaw felt so much joy in racing across the moorland; it was just so amazing to be running freely just for the sake of it without any trees or bushes in the way. Of course, there was the occasional rabbit hole, but once spotted, they were easy to avoid.

She stopped suddenly, skidding into Honeypaw, who had bumped into Mistpaw. The WindClan she-cat had suddenly crouched down, but before Mosspaw could see why, Icepaw ran into her, the toms following close behind.

Regaining her balance, Mosspaw looked over Honeypaw's shoulder to see a familiar dark gray tom standing in front of Mistpaw, a confused expression on his face. In a flash, Mosspaw remember the scent on the patch of grass and his name from the Gathering.

"Crowfeather?" she murmured, feeling Flamepaw come up beside her and stare at Crowfeather as well. The warrior was still staring down at Mistpaw, as if he couldn't tell why there was a WindClan medicine cat apprentice crouching in front of him.

He didn't ask any questions as he lifted his eyes and looked at the other apprentices, but his gaze lingered on Flamepaw and Mosspaw as if he could tell what they were thinking. Without a word, he stepped aside and kept padding down the slope, probably towards the WindClan camp.

Flamepaw and Mosspaw looked at each other, then over their shoulders at the retreating figure of Crowfeather. What were those two cats thinking, leaving scent lying around the border like that? If Leafpool and Crowfeather were going to meet, they could at least be sensible enough to disguise their scent.

_I wonder why I'm not angry at Crowfeather for meeting up with Leafpool,_ she thought, starting to pad after Mistpaw and Honeypaw, who had now recovered and were starting to pad on to the Moonpool. _He's an enemy warrior! Yet . . . I almost _want_ them to meet up. That makes absolutely no sense!_

Mosspaw suddenly stumbled on a rock jutting out of the earth. Regaining her footing, she looked up at the larger rocks leading up to a higher ledge where she could just see some brambles. With a deep breath, she clambered up the boulders, not stopping to rest until she reached the top.

Once up there, she sat down and waited for the others to reach the top as well. Sunpaw and Flamepaw had already arrived before her, and Sunpaw was now telling Flamepaw about something. Honeypaw leaped up the last boulder and came to a stop beside Mosspaw, also sitting down to catch her breath.

". . . the loners from the horseplace?" Sunpaw was saying, and Flamepaw nodded. "Well, there's two gray and white cats, as well as a black one."

Icepaw reached the top, turning around to help Mistpaw up.

"I was on a hunting patrol with Sunstrike and some other cats, when we saw the black cat—I think I heard his name was Blackshadow—sitting on the top of the fence and staring across the lake towards ShadowClan territory," Sunpaw continued. "Smoky, one of the gray and white cats, said something to him, and Blackshadow replied, saying 'I'm just waiting for the right time.' Isn't that weird?"

Flamepaw nodded, and Nightpaw and Waterpaw, who had reached the top, moved closer to listen as well.

"But that's not the weirdest part. A crow suddenly swooped down from the sky, followed by a second, and landed a few fox-lengths away from Blackshadow. The poor cat yowled and leaped off the fence, nearly landing on Smoky. I think he's scared of crows!" Sunpaw purred, starting to push his way through the brambles.

All the other cats purred with him, following him through the thorns. The spot they were going through wasn't nearly as thick as around it, but the thorns still tugged annoyingly at Mosspaw's fur and clawed her nose.

"That sounds like Blackshadow," some cat murmured. All the apprentices froze. It was obvious that none of them had spoken.

Mosspaw cautiously looked down the pathway to the Moonpool. There, standing by the edge of the Moonpool and looking warily up at them, were two cats; one gray, one ginger. There was something familiar about them, but Mosspaw just couldn't place what it was.

"Who are you?" Waterpaw called out, pushing his way forward to see better. All the apprentices crowded forward as well, all wanting to see a glimpse of the two cats.

The gray cat glanced at his companion, probably wondering if they should tell strangers. "First tell us who you are," he replied, stepping closer to the ginger cat.

"We're Clan cats," Sunpaw replied. "We live in four different Clans that are—"

"We know what the Clans are," the gray cat interrupted. "What are you going to do with us now?"

"We don't even know your names!" Waterpaw yowled. His tone didn't sound exasperated, more like he just felt like yelling. Waterpaw could be strange sometimes.

"Do you go around finding out the names of loners before you report them to your leader?" the ginger cat called out, her whiskers twitching as she tried to keep from laughing.

"No, we don't, but what are your names?" Icepaw meowed, pushing her way closer to the front to stand beside her brother.

This whole time, Mosspaw was trying to figure out why they were so familiar. Had she seen them before? Maybe on patrol, or . . . had they been brought to ThunderClan when she was a kit?

Suddenly, it clicked.

The gray tom sighed and flicked his tail. "I'm—"

"Thorntail and Rosethorn!" Mosspaw exclaimed, jumping into the air with satisfaction. These were the cats she had dreamt about! But why had it taken so long to realize who they were?

Mosspaw trotted down the pathway, closer and closer to the two cats. As she neared, she breathed in their scent, hoping to remember it. Sure enough, their scents were the same as in StarClan. She relaxed, part of her duty done. Now, to convince them to join a Clan, assure the other cats that they were safe to be around, and find the other two cats that were Rosethorn and Thorntail's friends, and she wouldn't have to worry about them anymore! Shouldn't be too hard.

"How do you know our names?" Thorntail asked carefully, taking a step away from her. "We've never met before."

"Yeah, Mosspaw, how _do_ you know their names?" Flamepaw called from where the others were still standing. "And what are loners doing by our sacred Moonpool?"

"I dreamt about Rosethorn and Thorntail. Hollyleaf told me they were being sent back to the Clans from a long time ago, to give them a better life," Mosspaw explained. "There are also two other cats that were sent back, but I have no idea who they are."

"Then you used to be from StarClan?" Mistpaw asked quietly, creeping down to approach the two cats as well. Rosethorn nodded, making Mistpaw perk up with excitement. She seemed to be in awe.

"I expect the other two cats that were sent back are Blackshadow and Applefur; they're mates, so they may be together," Thorntail meowed, as the other apprentices finally overcame their wariness and trooped down to join them.

"Blackshadow!" Sunpaw exclaimed in delight. "The tom scared of crows?"

Thorntail nodded, both him and Rosethorn purring. "Do any of you know Applefur?" Rosethorn asked, her gaze lighting on all the cats. She stopped at Honeypaw, who was staring wide-eyed back at her. "She's got a similar fur colour as me. . . ."

Honeypaw looked away. "There's an Applefur in my Clan," she mumbled. "But she's been there ever since I was born; before that, even."

"What Clan do you live in?" Rosethorn prompted, seeming keen on finding out where her friend was.

"ShadowClan," Honeypaw replied, looking up at the older she-cat. "I'm positive Applefur was born in ShadowClan."

Rosethorn nodded. "That would make sense; in the old forest, I don't think Applefur took much of a liking to ShadowClan—no offense—so I would find it hard to believe she decided to live there willingly."

"Aren't you from StarClan?" Icepaw asked curiously. "Wouldn't you have known where they are?"

"They were kept from the knowledge," a voice behind them all spoke. The eight apprentices turned around to see eight more cats standing behind them, all with starshine in their fur. StarClan had come to see them?

"Hollyleaf!" Mosspaw purred, spotting the black she-cat standing just behind the cat that had spoken. She darted forward and touched noses with the StarClan cat happily, glad to see her again. A visible bond was growing between them fast.

A beautiful golden she-cat approached Mosspaw, her gaze bright and happy. "Mosspaw," she meowed quietly. Mosspaw turned to look at her and nodded. "Please tell Leafpool that I am with StarClan now," she whispered. "I am Mothwing."

Mosspaw held back a gasp, her tail and ears perking straight up. Mothwing had been accepted into StarClan! Leafpool would be so pleased.

"We are here to give you eight apprentices some special abilities," meowed the cat that had first spoken. He was flame-coloured, much like Flamepaw himself, and he had the same sort of form as Flamepaw. . . .

"Are you Firestar?" Mistpaw asked timidly from where she stood beside a brown tom.

"I am," Firestar meowed, turning to look at the light gray she-cat. "And now that we are all together, line up, facing us."

Mosspaw drew back, backing up closer to the edge of the Moonpool. Hollyleaf took her place a few pawsteps in front of her, nodding ever so slightly.

Flamepaw was beside her, facing Firestar, and on her other side, Honeypaw was facing another flame-coloured tom.

Flamepaw was first in whatever was happening. Firestar took a step forward and rested his muzzle on Flamepaw's head, just like what a leader would do to a new warrior. As Mosspaw watched, she saw fire suddenly rise up from ground and surround Flamepaw, getting closer and closer, until it engulfed him. She cringed, waiting for Flamepaw to cry out in pain, but he didn't move a muscle. Firestar whispered something undetectable to him and moved away. Flamepaw turned his head to stare at his pelt in amazement, which was flaming, and dipped his head to Firestar.

Mosspaw glimpsed a look of shock from Thorntail and Rosethorn before Hollyleaf approached her. She rested her muzzle on Mosspaw's head, the same as Firestar had done. Moss appeared and started advancing towards Mosspaw, creeping faster and faster until it overtook her pelt.

It was surprisingly comfortable, though, and Mosspaw felt like she'd be able to lie on thorns and not feel a thing. Hollyleaf lifted her muzzle off Mosspaw's head and whispered to her, "You now have the power to change your pelt into moss. It will be helpful to blend in with your surroundings."

Mosspaw looked down at her moss pelt, realizing that if she scrunched up tight into a ball, she might be able to pass for a moss-covered rock. Maybe.

The other apprentices underwent similar transformations. Honeypaw became a glob of sticky honey, Nightpaw nearly vanished when he became like a shadow, Waterpaw started dripping with water, Icepaw became as hard and shiny as ice, and probably as cold as ice too, and Mistpaw also seemed to disappear from sight.

When it was Sunpaw's turn, he became a dazzling burst of really bright light, but he soon learned to tone it down and how to control it.

All the apprentices were astonished by what had just happened. Mosspaw lifted a paw and unsheathed her claws. They were barely visible from the moss-fur that was covering them, but when she poked her leg experimentally, the point of a claw was certainly there, and sharp.

Concentrating on what her regular pelt looked like, Mosspaw closed her eyes. When she opened them, her fur was back to the normal dark brown tabby pattern it always was, almost the same exact pattern as Bramblestar. The change hadn't felt like anything; it had just changed without her noticing.

Looking up, she noticed that the other apprentices had changed back as well, and were now watching Firestar as he approached Rosethorn and Thorntail.

"Now that you have been brought to the Clans, you must choose a Clan to live in," Firestar instructed. "It is your choice, of course, but it is always easier for a Clan cat to live in a Clan rather than live as loners or rogues."

A dark ginger she-cat, the one standing in front of Nightpaw, left to join Firestar. "Whichever Clan you choose, remember that it is only temporary. All four of you—Blackshadow and Applefur included—must choose the same Clan to be in, but it's not one of these four," she meowed.

Mosspaw looked up at Hollyleaf in confusion. "Are there other Clans?"

Hollyleaf purred, flicking Mosspaw with her tail. "You'll find out in due time."

Mosspaw sighed, shaking her head. "StarClan cats," she muttered under her breath.

Thorntail and Rosethorn looked at each other. They seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. They were mates, after all, and weren't mates supposed to think as one? Unless . . . they really, really, really, really, really, really hated each other. But then why would they be mates?

Thorntail looked over at Mosspaw. "What Clan did you say you were from, Mosspaw?"

"I . . . didn't say. I'm from ThunderClan."

Thorntail turned away so they couldn't see his expression. "Crazy coincidences," Mosspaw heard him mutter.

"Okay, we'll join ThunderClan. Mosspaw was the only one to get a dream concerning us," he announced to any cat who felt like hearing. Rosethorn nodded in agreement, and they both stood up.

"Hold on," another she-cat meowed, halting all movement from cats. She was a spotted she-cat; most likely Leopardstar, by the looks of her.

"Before you all leave, there are two more things that need to be told," she told them.

"Right," a black and white tom agreed. Turning to Rosethorn and Thorntail, he meowed, "First, you have to promise to never to speak of what happened here at the Moonpool."

"Yes, Tallstar," Rosethorn meowed solemnly, with Thorntail nodding beside her.

"Second," the other flame-coloured tom meowed, "is that you apprentices are also equipped with telepathic communication. You'll find it comes in handy."

"What do you mean, Flametail?" Honeypaw asked, tilting her head to one side.

"And what in StarClan is something communication?" Waterpaw added.

"Telepathic communication means that you eight apprentices will be able to speak to each other through your minds. It is quite rare, and only given to cats that especially need it," Flametail explained.

"In your case, if the beasts come along, you might want to send for reinforcements, correct?" Mothwing meowed. "Sending a message through your mind is quicker than sending a cat, especially if there is no other cat."

"Will we be able to talk to other cats?" Sunpaw asked.

"Yes . . ." Tallstar meowed slowly. "But they probably won't know what's going on, and might not answer."

"What about StarClan cats?" Mistpaw asked timidly. Mosspaw noted that Mistpaw always seemed a bit shy around other cats. Hopefully she wouldn't be the same during a battle with the beasts, whatever they were.

"Probably," the brown tom in front of her meowed. "But it'll be up to the cat you're trying to talk with to decide if they want to answer, so don't be disappointed if you don't get an answer."

Mistpaw nodded. "Thank you, Barkface."

"I have a question," Flamepaw announced, standing tall. All faces turned to him, expectantly. "Just what _are_ these beasts we have to fight? We need to know so we'll be ready."

"Oh, you'll know it when you see them," Hollyleaf muttered. "They're large, larger than a dog," she added. After that, the StarClan cats disappeared, leaving eight apprentices and two warriors alone at the Moonpool.

"Well," Nightpaw murmured, looking around at the others, "I guess we'd better get back home. Dawn will be here in a little while." The others nodded, and they all started up the path. Mosspaw beckoned to Rosethorn and Thorntail, and the two cats followed the apprentices.

Suddenly an extremely loud yowl followed by a cry sounded from outside the borders of the Moonpool. Sunpaw and Mistpaw jumped back, being the closest to the brambles.

The apprentices all looked at each other, wondering what was going on. "Should we look?" Mosspaw asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to know.

A furious hiss sounded, making the apprentices bunch together. Thorntail had his ears pricked, listening. "Some cats are fighting," he meowed. "We should go make sure it's not over something pointless."

Before they could push their way through the brambles, they all heard an eerie screech. The words chilled Mosspaw through to her bones.

"I'm going to kill you!"

**A/N: Oooo... Cliffhanger. Anybody got any idea who just said that? Please answer in your review! (And please review! =^.^=) Next chapter will come soon, depending on how many reviews I get :D**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: -grins- I really enjoyed this chapter... so hopefully you will too! Not much to say... anyway, R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.**

Chapter 7

"_I'm going to kill you!"_

At the sound of that screech, all the apprentices gasped. Thorntail pressed his mate closer to him, keeping his ears pricked for any other sounds. There weren't any more threats, only yowls and hisses.

"We have to find out what's going on!" Sunpaw whispered, his eyes darting around at the other apprentices. "WindClan cats surely wouldn't fight with each other, so it must be an intruder of some sort."

The others nodded, and Mosspaw took a deep breath, ready to push her way through the brambles. Taking one last look down at the Moonpool behind her, she flattened her ears and started forward as quietly as possible.

When they had all emerged on the other side of the brambles, including Thorntail and Rosethorn, they all slowly peeked over the edge and looked down to where there were two cats fighting. At the sight of the identity of the two cats, Mosspaw, Flamepaw, Mistpaw, and Sunpaw froze. A WindClan cat and a ThunderClan cat were fighting.

"That's Leafpool!" Mosspaw gasped, confused at the sight of her Clanmate fighting a black cat. Was Leafpool fighting Crowfeather?

"Why is Nightcloud trying to kill her?" Mistpaw cried. Mosspaw stared down at the two cats, remembering that Nightcloud was Crowfeather's technical mate. If these two she-cats were fighting, then that must mean that Nightcloud had discovered Leafpool and Crowfeather's secret. Mosspaw knew Leafpool would never start a fight with another cat deliberately.

Leafpool was struggling underneath Nightcloud, trying to get the other she-cat off of her. Nightcloud was strong; she was easily keeping Leafpool down while at the same time trying to get her jaws around the tabby cat's throat. Leafpool narrowed her eyes, using her front paws to slash at Nightcloud's muzzle whenever she got close.

"We have to do something!" Waterpaw meowed quietly, watching the scene in front of him with wide eyes. "Nightcloud's going to tear Leafpool apart if we don't!"

Mosspaw pricked her ears when she heard her Clanmate's voice.

"Nightcloud . . . why are you doing this?" Leafpool hissed, trying to wedge her back legs between their two bodies so she could push Nightcloud off. "What will the Clans think when they find out you murdered me? Your reputation will sink lower than it possibly can!"

Nightcloud shook her head after Leafpool struck another blow at her. Leafpool's claws had left a small wound, and beads of blood appeared as she snarled. "They won't find out! We're near the edge of WindClan territory, so after I kill you, I'll just drag you over the boundary. No cat will know how it happened," she growled, narrowing her eyes before she lunged at Leafpool's throat again. When she failed, she continued speaking.

"If you're killed, you will never be Crowfeather's! I won't be second best! I will always be his mate, and there will be nothing you can do about it!" Nightcloud yowled. She stopped suddenly and looked down at Leafpool. "Crowfeather should never have sent Breezepelt away. Just because he sided with the Dark Forest doesn't mean he was a bad cat! He was our son!"

"That's what you believe?" Leafpool spat. "You will always be second best! I might even be second best! Feathertail was Crowfeather's first love, but it was only because she died that Crowfeather came to me."

"Shut up and die already!" Nightcloud screeched, baring her teeth. Mosspaw cringed as she watched the black she-cat try to inflict the killing bite.

A movement attracted Mosspaw's attention, and she looked over a little bit at a bush near the bottom of the rocks piling up to the edge where she and the other apprentices were. Two cats were standing just behind the bush, one gray and one black. What was with black cats popping up lately? Curiosity claimed Mosspaw when she recognized one of them as Jayfeather, and she slinked down as quietly as possible towards him. What was he doing here?

"Crowfeather's coming!" Sunpaw hissed quietly, just loud enough for Mosspaw to hear. She lifted her head to watch and crouched down so Crowfeather wouldn't notice her.

Nightcloud had noticed her mate approaching just after Sunpaw had announced it, even though she hadn't heard the apprentice. When she looked up from where she stood, she froze.

"Crowfeather," Nightcloud breathed, glancing back down at Leafpool. "Crowfeather," she meowed a bit more strongly, "Leafpool just tried to kill me! She leaped out of nowhere and told me to stop being your mate, just like that! StarClan must have been on my side, because Leafpool was so determined to get rid of me, it's a miracle that I'm still alive. You—you do believe me, right? Your mate?" Nightcloud mewed, feigning the look of innocence at the sight of anguish on Crowfeather's face.

Leafpool growled quietly, restraining herself from snarling at Nightcloud. "That's all lies and you know it, Nightcloud. But if Crowfeather believes you, then I guess I was wrong about him."

Mosspaw tore her eyes away from the scene and focused once more on Jayfeather and the other cat. Flamepaw had crept up beside her, and at his signal, they both slinked around the bush to the side Jayfeather was. Opening her jaws, Mosspaw tried to identify the other cat, but it wasn't a familiar scent.

Beside her, Flamepaw stood up and padded quietly over to the two cats. Mosspaw followed him in time to hear him whisper, "Breezepelt and Jayfeather?"

Mosspaw's eyes widened with shock. What was Breezepelt doing with Jayfeather in WindClan territory? He was such a dangerous cat! She started to say something, but Breezepelt slapped his tail against her mouth, shushing her with a look. He turned and peered around the bush at the other three cats, and Flamepaw and Mosspaw copied him.

Crowfeather was still standing before Nightcloud and Leafpool, his expression full of sadness and wistfulness. While all the cats that were listening and watching waited for his reply to Nightcloud, he closed his eyes. "I don't believe your story, Nightcloud," he meowed quietly.

A shrill gasp came from the black she-cat. "But . . . how could you not, Crowfeather? I'm your mate! Your mate! Not this . . . this cat!"

Mosspaw noticed Breezepelt stiffen at the words coming from his mother and father. Whether it was because Nightcloud was a mousebrain or because Crowfeather seemed to be rejecting her, Mosspaw couldn't tell.

"I don't believe you, Nightcloud," Crowfeather repeated, opening his eyes to meet hers. "You say Leafpool leaped on you and told you to stop being my mate," he continued. "But I know Leafpool would never do that. She's not that kind of cat. I know her a lot better than you do." Crowfeather watched as Leafpool stared up at him. "And I know what I heard, Nightcloud," he added quietly. "I heard everything."

Nightcloud stared at Crowfeather in disbelief. All was silent.

The silence was broken by Jayfeather and Breezepelt revealing themselves and rounding the bush to stand behind a few tail-lengths behind Nightcloud. Mosspaw and Flamepaw watched breathlessly as Crowfeather noticed two of his sons approaching. Raising his gaze, he also saw the other six apprentices still standing on the ledge with Rosethorn and Thorntail just behind them. He looked back down at Jayfeather and Breezepelt, silently watching their every move.

Nightcloud realized Crowfeather was looking at something behind her, and she turned around carefully, trying to make sure Leafpool wasn't able to get up. It didn't work.

As soon as she saw Breezepelt standing there with Jayfeather, she lost her powerful hold on Leafpool, and the tabby she-cat scrambled up, narrowing her eyes at the two half-siblings.

"Breezepelt?" Nightcloud breathed, her eyes wide with wonder at the sight of her son. Breezepelt didn't say anything, but he stared back at his mother calmly. Something had happened to that cat, Mosspaw realized, to keep him from siding with his mother. Or maybe he was about to.

Nightcloud suddenly realized she had lost her grip on Leafpool and turned back to her and Crowfeather. Shaking her head, she meowed defiantly, "No cat will believe any of you over me."

"Oh, no?" Jayfeather spoke up suddenly, and Nightcloud whipped her head around to glare at him.

"You speak as if there were only us five cats here. But I happen to know that eight other cats watched you as you threatened to kill Leafpool," Jayfeather continued.

Nightcloud's eyes darted around, confused, eventually returning to the gray medicine cat. "But there aren't."

Breezepelt glanced over his shoulder up at the ledge where the other apprentices were standing. "You're right, Nightcloud. There aren't eight; there are ten."

"Ten?" Jayfeather frowned, opening his jaws slightly to scent the air. Breezepelt shook his head.

"There are eight cats up on the ledge, plus the two apprentices hiding behind that bush over there," he meowed. Nightcloud's eyes widened as she saw the six apprentices staring down at her with wide eyes, along with the two older cats. Hearing a rustle nearby, she looked over and saw Mosspaw and Flamepaw pad around the bush, their eyes wide with shock.

Mosspaw darted forward, brushing against Leafpool. She looked up at the older she-cat, eyes wide with understanding, and Leafpool glanced down at her, blinking gratefully at her.

Without a word, Nightcloud took off, racing away faster than any cat Mosspaw had ever seen.

Crowfeather watched her leave, his gaze still sad. Turning to Leafpool, he meowed, "I'm sorry, Leafpool." Leafpool nodded, brushing her tail against Mosspaw's flank, who was still pressed against her.

Crowfeather looked away suddenly, turning back to where Jayfeather and Breezepelt had been standing. Instead, they were gone, and the only cat nearby was Flamepaw, who had regarded the whole match with interest.

"How in StarClan did Nightcloud manage to get Leafpool over here?" he muttered, looking away when Mosspaw glared at him. Now was not the time for a medicine cat to try and figure out battle strategies.

"Well, we should probably get back to our Clans now!" Waterpaw announced loudly, bounding down the pathway. Icepaw chased after him, hissing something about ruining the mood.

The apprentices approached Mosspaw and Flamepaw. "We won't say anything about this," Nightpaw meowed solemnly, glancing around at the other apprentices, who nodded in agreement. "Whatever just happened here tonight doesn't concern most of us, so it's best if we keep it to ourselves," he added.

"We'll keep in touch," Sunpaw murmured, flicking Flamepaw on his forehead with his tail. "Let's see who figures out how to use our abilities first," he added with a challenging purr.

Honeypaw leaned over and licked Mosspaw's ear, nodding respectfully at Leafpool and Crowfeather. "I'll be thinking about you all!" she called, padding away with Nightpaw by her side. Icepaw and Waterpaw echoed their farewell and left as well.

"We'd best get going too," Flamepaw meowed, nodding to the WindClan cats. Crowfeather stared at him, and Mosspaw wondered what he was thinking. She certainly didn't want to be in his position.

"Let's go home, Leafpool," Mosspaw meowed softly, turning to Rosethorn and Thorntail, who had been watching a little ways away. The two cats' expressions seemed sympathetic, as if they knew exactly how Leafpool and Crowfeather felt right now.

As they all left, Leafpool called ahead to where Flamepaw was. "Flamepaw, what do you suppose Jayfeather will do with his knowledge?"

"Flamepaw? His name is Flamepaw?" Rosethorn burst out. She didn't seem embarrassed by her outburst as all the cats stopped and looked at her. "Sorry," she meowed quietly, suddenly staring at Flamepaw. "My mentor's name was Flamesoul, and—"

"Long story made short, Flamesoul was a medicine cat and he did some things he wasn't technically allowed to do to Rosethorn, his apprentice," Thorntail interrupted.

Flamepaw flicked his ear uncomfortably. "I—I'm a medicine cat," he meowed, glancing at Mosspaw.

Leafpool looked up from where she staring at—her paws—and padded over to Rosethorn. "I think I understand," she murmured, gazing straight into the ginger she-cat's eyes. "And while your mentor and I both broke the warrior, it sounds like he was worse. But I can assure you that Flamepaw is not like that," she finished, raising her head and proudly gazing at the ginger apprentice.

Mosspaw caught onto what Leafpool was saying, guessing the things Flamesoul had done. "Yeah, Flamepaw won't let a she-cat touch him expect me and our mother," she purred, relieved to see Rosethorn relax.

"As for your question, Leafpool," Flamepaw meowed, "I don't really know what Jayfeather will do. You should know a lot better than me that he can be unpredictable with anything he does."

"Yes, that's true," Leafpool muttered. "He probably gets it from Crowfeather." Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Leafpool looked up. "Let's get back to ThunderClan territory. I'll feel better once we do."

They all nodded and continued their trek back to their territory, crossing the stream easily. Caught up in the fast-approaching dawn, Mosspaw didn't notice the nearby scents of four cats.

Flamepaw did. He nudged Mosspaw, silently signalling with his tail for the other cats to stop. Mosspaw looked straight ahead and saw Squirrelflight, Redpaw, Dewpaw, and Lionblaze. They seemed to be looking for something. . . . Glancing back at Rosethorn and Thorntail, Mosspaw hoped her Clanmates wouldn't be too hostile to them. Thorntail had pressed against his mate's side, looking ready to fight off a horde of badgers.

_Wait, wait, wait just one second!_ Mosspaw told herself, thinking back to what Thorntail had said earlier. _How can they be mates if Rosethorn had a mentor who was a medicine cat? They're obviously not siblings; they've got opposite forms. I'll have to find out some other time._

Mosspaw looked back at the four cats approaching. None of them had yet noticed her as she padded forward silently, stopping a tail-length before Lionblaze, who had his nose to the ground. Redpaw and Squirrelflight kept glancing behind their shoulders, and Dewpaw was staring up at the treetops, studying the sky as sunlight started filtering through.

Lionblaze was still padding forward, concentrating on whatever he was following. When he suddenly noticed paws in front of him, he raised his head and stared at Mosspaw. She stared back at him, a teasing expression in her eyes.

"Mosspaw!" he exclaimed, drawing the other cats' attention to them. "We found you!" Glancing behind her, he saw Flamepaw and Leafpool, completely ignoring the fact that there were two strange cats with them. "And Flamepaw and Leafpool! Where did you three run off to?"

Dewpaw raced forward, shouldering Lionblaze aside to cover Mosspaw with licks. Mosspaw recoiled in disgust, attempting to shake him off but failing.

"My precious she-cat—"

"Your?"

"—has been found!"

"I was never lost."

"Oh, never be separated from me ever again!"

"Go away!" Mosspaw meowed, hitting him on the side of his head. "What in StarClan gave you the idea that I'm your future mate?"

Redpaw purred, acting more dignified as he approached her and licked her ear in a friendly manner. Squirrelflight brushed past them towards Leafpool, pressing her muzzle against Leafpool. Leafpool stayed still and calm as Squirrelflight noticed the scent on her fur. Before she could question her, Squirrelflight noticed Thorntail and Rosethorn standing just behind Leafpool.

Thorntail wrapped his tail protectively around Rosethorn's tail, challenging the other cats to approach them with a fierce glare.

"Mosspaw?" Lionblaze asked, his voice cool and quiet. "Who are these cats? Why have you brought them here? They're not from any of the other Clans around here; are they loners?"

Mosspaw sat down, closing her eyes and meowing, "I can only answer one question at a time, you know."

"Mosspaw! Don't talk back at your mentor like that," Squirrelflight scolded her.

Mosspaw didn't flinch. "These two cats are Rosethorn and Thorntail. They're here because they want to join ThunderClan . . . again? And they're not loners, but their story is complicated. I don't know it all, but I have no intention of sharing the bits and pieces I do know to any of you." Mosspaw glanced over her shoulder at Rosethorn, studying the she-cat. She was already beginning to like the two new arrivals. Now if only she could convince her Clanmates to accept them as well. . . .

Dewpaw towered over her, glaring down at her, probably still ticked off from getting hit on his head from earlier. "And why won't you tell us?" he growled.

"Why should I?" Mosspaw replied, lifting her head and glaring back at him. He cringed; he knew exactly why Mosspaw had hit him.

Lionblaze sighed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go back to camp and tell Bramblestar." Mosspaw stood up and motioned to Thorntail and Rosethorn, who padded forward.

Mosspaw dropped back to pad beside Leafpool, knowing she needed the comfort from a cat who knew what was going on. Of course, Squirrelflight probably knew too, but she was annoying her poor sister, trying to get Leafpool to explain what had happened.

Mosspaw switched sides and nudged her mother. "I think it'll be best if you leave her alone for now," she meowed quietly. "If you two are as close as you say, Leafpool will tell you when she's ready. She'll be okay for now."

Leafpool looked over at her, gratefulness brimming in her eyes. Squirrelflight narrowed her eyes at the sight of claw marks on her sister's cheek. "Leafpool," she murmured, lowering her voice so only the three of them could hear, "were you caught?"

Leafpool turned away, not replying. Flamepaw used this interval to drop back and meow, "Squirrelflight, would you tell Bramblestar that I'll be back in camp soon? I want to find Jayfeather."

"Jayfeather?" Squirrelflight frowned at Flamepaw. "Oh, yes, he was missing from camp when we left. How did you know he was gone?"

"Uh . . ."

"Jayfeather," Leafpool murmured. The three of them looked over to her. "I wonder . . ." Leafpool started, ". . . what Breezepelt is doing now that he was chased out."

Flamepaw shook his head. "You don't want to know."

Mosspaw studied her brother. He obviously knew something; he had known who Breezepelt was when they had been behind the bush, and now he seemed to know where he was.

Squirrelflight sighed, nodding. "Go ahead. But what if he's back at camp?"

Flamepaw shook his head. "Mosspaw will let me know if he is. Bye!"

"How will she tell you?" Squirrelflight called after him.

"Ask Bramblestar to explain!" he answered, his voice fading as he disappeared. Squirrelflight glanced at Mosspaw, confusion in her eyes.

"If you don't know about us yet, then I think Bramblestar should tell you," Mosspaw meowed firmly, leaving no room for argument.

"Leafpool? Do you know anything about this?" Squirrelflight asked. Leafpool shook her head, glancing at Mosspaw curiously. Mosspaw shrugged, not revealing anything, and focused on memorizing her way around her territory. A golden ray of sunlight reminded her about her promise to Mothwing. Switching sides once more so she was padding beside Leafpool, she meowed, "Leafpool . . ."

Leafpool looked at her, curious.

"Well . . . I was told to let you know that Mothwing was in StarClan," Mosspaw whispered. Leafpool stared at her, her expression slowly growing into amazement and excitement.

"Mothwing went to StarClan?" she asked softly. "Did you see her?" Mosspaw nodded, purring.

"She told me herself to tell you," Mosspaw explained.

"That's wonderful! Thank you, Mosspaw," Leafpool meowed, licking Mosspaw between her ears.

"It's not me; Mothwing was the only one able to allow StarClan into her heart," Mosspaw meowed truthfully. Leafpool nodded, now more excited and amazed than before. She continued to stay that way all the way back to camp.

**A/N: ... Did you enjoy it? Did you? Well? I did...**

**Please review and be on the lookout for chapter 8!**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Chapter 8, here we go! Please enjoy! And I hope you like the little twist I stuck in at the end. Tell me what you think about it, please! Please! Please! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors; Erin Hunter does.**

Chapter 8

Flamepaw padded quickly and quietly over to the training hollow, where he knew all the apprentices were having a lesson. Jayfeather had given him some time off until sunhigh, so he had decided to watch the apprentices train—and maybe join in if he got the chance. After all, medicine cats _were_ supposed to know basic fighting moves.

Flamepaw stopped briefly to sniff the air as he approached the edge of the training hollow. He was still hidden, and he wanted to keep it that way, to see what would happen. Surprisingly, not only were all the apprentices and mentors at the hollow, but he caught the now-familiar scent of Rosethorn and Thorntail. They must've been brought along to test out their strengths.

Flamepaw crouched down, his only cover now being a few trees and ferns. Keeping close to the hollow, he tried to sneak around to the far side, where the apprentices' backs were facing. Knowing his bright ginger pelt would annoyingly stand out, he tried to keep to the shadows as much as possible. At one point, Spiderleg looked almost at the exact place where he was crouched, but Flamepaw was just barely hidden by a tree.

Finally reaching the opposite side of the hollow, he got comfortable in a crouch to wait for the perfect time to strike at Bluepaw. The two sisters—Bluepaw and Birdpaw—had become increasingly annoying and competitive against him, even though he was a medicine cat. But no matter how hard they trained, he could still keep them at bay.

"Okay, Thorntail," Spiderleg was meowing, "I think we'll match you up with Lionblaze, and Rosethorn will fight with Poppyfrost."

Lionblaze purred, glancing over at the older tom. "Don't you think that's a little unfair? We should see how well he fights before you put him with me, don't you think?"

"Oh, you think I can't fight?" Thorntail meowed confidently, raising his head proudly. Rosethorn watched him, a flash of fear crossing her eyes. Thorntail looked over at her at that exact moment and told her, "Come on, Rosethorn. Just because you've managed to change me a bit doesn't mean I can't still fight like I used to."

"I know," Rosethorn meowed. "Just don't kill Lionblaze." Flamepaw got the impression she had said that just to annoy Thorntail, because the gray tom glanced self-consciously at the other mentors.

"I haven't killed a cat since that time with WindClan," Thorntail mumbled.

Lionblaze purred, flicking his tail around. "Well, if you can fight that well, then I suppose I'll fight you. But be forewarned; I haven't lost a fight since I let myself lose deliberately."

Thorntail shrugged, relieved to have the attention dropped from him. "Fine. I haven't lost a fight either."

Mosspaw, who was sitting beside Rosethorn, leaned past her to meow to Thorntail, "Just so you know, Lionblaze has a special power. He never gets hurt in battle."

"_What_?" Thorntail meowed, stretching out the word. "Now that's just unfair. What will happen when I beat Lionblaze?"

Lionblaze rolled his eyes and shook his head good naturedly. Standing up, he motioned for all the cats to step back. Thorntail stood up as well, squaring up confidently with him.

Mosspaw slinked back a bit, heading straight towards Flamepaw's hiding spot. Glancing over her shoulder, she turned around and settled down beside him. "What are you doing here?" she hissed, her eyes flickering over to the two cats who were waiting for a signal from Birchfall.

Flamepaw slapped his tail over Mosspaw's muzzle. "Jayfeather gave me some time off, so I came here. Now quiet!"

Mosspaw nodded and slowly pushed herself forward so she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention to Flamepaw.

"Now remember," Birchfall meowed, "claws sheathed. Begin."

Lionblaze crouched down, about to spring. Thorntail stayed standing, his muscles tense and waiting. With a yowl, Lionblaze launched himself straight for Thorntail's back.

Instead of moving out of the way, Thorntail reared up on his hind legs and grappled Lionblaze, pulling him to the ground before leaping away. Lionblaze scrambled back to his paws and instantly flew at Thorntail again.

Thorntail didn't give him the chance to reach him. As Lionblaze was about to hit him, he sidestepped just enough and head-butted him in his flank as he passed, making Lionblaze lose his balance. Thorntail leaped onto Lionblaze to further his fall, but Lionblaze quickly grasped Thorntail will all four paws and went limp, making Thorntail stumble under the double weight.

They both rolled around on the ground yowling and hissing. A few times the other cats had to leap out of the way of the writhing ball. Finally, when it was starting to bore Flamepaw, Thorntail kicked out with strong back legs and Lionblaze lost his strong grip, having been thrown off.

Lionblaze skidded on his feet and quickly raced back to Thorntail. The gray tom was too slow to turn around, and Lionblaze took this opportunity to leap onto his quarry's back. Thorntail hissed, leaping around and trying to throw Lionblaze off, but the golden tom seemed experienced about hanging onto cats' backs while at the same time dealing blow after sheathed blow to various places. Finally, Thorntail gave up and dropped down to roll Lionblaze off.

Unfortunately, Lionblaze sensed this and leaped off before he could get caught underneath the large gray tom.

Flamepaw shook his head, unimpressed at Thorntail's frantic efforts to get Lionblaze off. He should've rolled right away instead of hopping around like a maniac.

Flamepaw glanced over at Rosethorn, who had joined Mosspaw once more when the two fighting warriors had gotten a little too close for comfort. Rosethorn didn't seem fascinated by her mate's moves, but maybe that was because she had been a former medicine cat, or at least that was what Flamepaw assumed. After all, how could a loyal medicine cat—unless you were Leafpool or Yellowfang—have a mate?

Suddenly Flamepaw turned back to the two cats, who had sadly stopped fighting. Flamepaw had been enjoying it, and now it was over?

Lionblaze and Thorntail were facing each other once again, their flanks heaving as they panted from their brawl. Both looked up and faced the other with newly formed respect in their eyes.

Flamepaw couldn't tell which cat had won. That wasn't right! Every battle should have a clear winner, or the cats would be unsatisfied. But Thorntail and Lionblaze seemed done.

"That was amazing!" Birchfall exclaimed. "I've never seen two cats so evenly matched."

"Lionblaze wasn't much competition at the beginning," Spiderleg commented. "Were you holding back, Lionblaze?"

Lionblaze looked away from the amused face of Mosspaw. "Yeah," he muttered.

"I'd sure hate to have you as my enemy!" Birchfall purred.

Thorntail studied Birchfall for a heartbeat before glancing at Rosethorn. "The only time you'd be my real enemy is if you're threatening Rosethorn." The ginger she-cat purred softly at the words coming from her mate.

Lionblaze purred as well. "I'm sure most of us can match that feeling," he meowed, looking pointedly at Spiderleg.

The older tom stared back, calmly meeting his gaze. Spiderleg and Daisy had two kits, Rosepetal and Toadstep. But Spiderleg hadn't seemed to love Daisy very much, or his kits, for that matter.

But unknown to any cat except Flamepaw, Spiderleg had started spending more awkward time with Daisy lately. In secret, that is. Flamepaw had caught them once sharing tongues in the forest, away from the peering eyes of their Clanmates—except Flamepaw, and he hadn't had any desire to see that. At all. So he had backed away as quietly as possible, and let the two go on sharing tongues. . . .

Shaking his head to get rid of the disgusting memory, Flamepaw focused once more on Bluepaw's back. He was itching to join the fight—even if there was no fight going on at the moment.

Silently, while the mentors were telling the apprentices something or other, Flamepaw pushed hard against the ground and sailed through the air to land on Bluepaw's back. The screech that came from the she-cat was probably heard in RiverClan.

After a glance over her shoulder at her attacker, Bluepaw dropped down and tried to roll him off, but he had been expecting that, and, like Lionblaze had done, jumped. But he leaped straight up into the air; not off to the side. When he landed, he was standing over Bluepaw again, and Birdpaw just _had_ to come to her 'rescue'.

Forgetting about Bluepaw for the time being, Flamepaw leaped over Birdpaw's back to her opposite side. She spun around and jumped onto his back.

Flamepaw rolled his eyes, slamming himself down immediately to roll. The surprise and impact stunned Birdpaw, and she released her grip.

Quickly, Flamepaw leaped back to his paws and turned back to Bluepaw, who was watching with a look of remorse defeat. Shrugging, Flamepaw sat down and lifted a front paw to lick it. Looking up, he saw the rest of the cats in the training hollow standing still, watching him.

"What?" Flamepaw asked, putting his paw back down. His whiskers twitched as they started moving again. Flamepaw could tell even Thorntail and Lionblaze had respect in their eyes as they occasionally glanced at him.

"Flamepaw!" a voice suddenly called, sounding impatient. Flamepaw saw Jayfeather appear in the hollow.

"Yes, Jayfeather?" Flamepaw meowed, awaiting orders. _It's already sunhigh? At least I got a battle in before then._

"We're going to see—I mean, collect catmint," Jayfeather meowed, stumbling over his words for once. Lionblaze glanced at his brother in confusion, clearly wondering why he had originally been saying 'see—'

Flamepaw stood up, nodding to the other cats in the hollow, and followed Jayfeather, who was already trotting towards the far end of the hollow.

"You're going to see catmint?" Bluepaw purred. "Can Birdpaw and I come too? You'll be able to bring plenty back to camp with the two of us helping! And I promise not to eat any," she added. Birdpaw nodded, padding up to stand beside her sister.

Jayfeather halted without turning around. "You . . . want to come?"

"Yes, please, Jayfeather," Birdpaw meowed. "We won't get in the way."

Flamepaw rolled his eyes. They'd get in the way with _him_, that's for sure. He'd had enough of those two for one day.

Luckily, Ivypool spoke up. "Hey, you two aren't excused from battle training yet. Try asking your mentors before you go off, Birdpaw."

Birdpaw looked over her shoulder at her mentor, large, sorrowful eyes gazing at the she-cat. But Ivypool refused to budge. "It didn't work with me when I was an apprentice and it won't work with you."

Birdpaw sighed, the two sisters turning around to continue battle training. Flamepaw purred, thanking StarClan for battles.

"Don't worry," he called back to the two she-cats. "Maybe next time you'll be able to beat me with the help of Dewpaw," he purred, naming the oldest apprentice.

Bluepaw and Birdpaw ignored him, and the two medicine cats left the hollow together, heading straight for the Twoleg nest.

* * *

Flamepaw slithered forward, his pawsteps light and delicate on the forest floor. He paused for a heartbeat, then leaped, aiming straight for a small, plump mouse. The mouse heard him just before he landed, and darted off, heading down a small hole in the ground.

Flamepaw sighed, trying not to feel too disappointed. After all, it had been his first try at hunting, and no cat had bothered to show him just how it was done yet. So he turned and went back to sit by the entrance of the Twoleg nest. If he strained his ears, he could just barely hear Jayfeather and Breezepelt speaking to each other. Deciphering the words was out of the question.

Flamepaw shrugged, twisting around to start cleaning his flank. When he was about halfway done, a rustle nearby and then the sound of pounding paws got him to stop and look up.

Quickly drinking in the air, he caught the scent of cat. Not waiting to identify it, he bounded over to the entrance of the Twoleg nest. Hissing quietly into it for the two toms to hide, he turned back around, ready to face whoever it was.

Flamepaw opened his jaws to figure out who the scent belonged to, but before he could, the cat emerged from behind the trunk of a tree. Mosspaw!

His sister padded forward calmly, sitting down in front of him. She was still for a few heartbeats, before finally meowing, "Care to tell me what's going on with Jayfeather?"

Flamepaw stood still, frozen. Jayfeather hadn't explained what he was supposed to tell his sister! Sure, other cats would just agree with whatever he came up with, but Mosspaw was a completely different story. She knew him completely; that meant she also knew when he was telling the truth or not.

Taking a deep breath, he finally got out, "It's—it's complicated."

Mosspaw glanced up, looking past Flamepaw into the Twoleg nest. "I get it," she meowed quietly. "I figured as much."

A familiar scent flooded over Flamepaw. Slowly turning around, he saw Jayfeather standing in the entrance with Breezepelt beside him.

Flamepaw was frozen again. He had failed keeping Breezepelt a secret. Now Jayfeather would make him become a warrior apprentice, all because he hadn't been able to keep Mosspaw from the truth. . . .

"Hi, Breezepelt," Mosspaw purred, breaking the spell on Flamepaw. "Nice to see you again."

The black tom nodded, narrowing his eyes. "So you didn't go telling every cat."

"What?" Flamepaw was thoroughly confused. Was Breezepelt talking about Mosspaw seeing him after the trip to the Moonpool?

"Hmph! I can't believe you didn't trust me," Mosspaw meowed, lifting her chin defiantly. "It's not like I don't hold a few secrets of my own."

"Hello . . ." Flamepaw meowed, drawing out the word. "Some cat tell me what in StarClan is going on!"

"Oh, nothing special," Mosspaw purred, turning to her brother. "I caught Breezepelt outside this nest. Said he came out for some 'fresh air'."

"I did!" Breezepelt insisted. Jayfeather rolled his eyes, flicking his tail against Breezepelt's flank.

"If Mosspaw hadn't caught you when she did, you would've eaten precious catmint stalks," Jayfeather meowed. Breezepelt glanced at him, then whipped his gaze around to glare at Mosspaw.

"You _did_ tell a cat!" he hissed. Flamepaw was worried he was really angry and wouldn't forgive Mosspaw, but his eyes held a good-natured gleam in them.

"I won't tell any cat about Breezepelt," Mosspaw meowed, looking at Flamepaw. "If I was planning on doing that, I would've done it right after I first saw him, by the Moonpool."

Flamepaw shook his head, still confused as to what had happened. But from what he had managed to gather, Mosspaw wasn't going to go tell RiverClan. Or StarClan, for that matter.

* * *

Flamepaw stood by the fresh-kill pile, trying to find something suitable to his taste at the moment without messing up the nicely arranged prey. Thorntail padded up as well, with Rosethorn hanging back a bit. Flamepaw stepped back, motioning for Thorntail to take his pick first.

Thorntail dipped his head. "Thanks." Without hesitation he reached out and grabbed two robins. "That was some pretty good fighting back there in the training hollow, Flamepaw. I was impressed," he meowed around the robins.

Flamepaw looked up at the older tom, surprised to hear Thorntail acknowledge him that way. "Thanks!" he purred. Glancing at the robins, he curled his lips. Robins still were the worst prey in the forest. Snowpaw had once brought a couple robins for him and Jayfeather in the medicine den, but it wasn't an easy task to force down all the meat mixed with a few feathers here and there.

Hearing a purr from behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Mosspaw watching him shudder as he thought about disgusting robins. "You sure don't like robins," she purred.

Flamepaw shook his head violently, pushing the thought of birds to the back of his mind. A sudden gust of wind caught him off balance. Looking up at the sky, he saw clouds forming quickly with the scent of rain in the air.

"It's going to rain soon," Mosspaw meowed urgently. "I'm going to go settle down for the night before it arrives."

Flamepaw touched his nose to her ear affectionately. "See you tomorrow."

As fast as he could, Flamepaw randomly grabbed a squirrel for himself as well as a rabbit for Jayfeather and Briarlight. He raced across the clearing to the medicine den, but the rain was too fast. He had to run the last few pawsteps through the rain that was steadily getting heavier.

Entering the den, he shook some of the rain off and carried the fresh-kill further into the den. Placing it down, he turned to focus on grooming all the rain off him. When he was finished, he quickly stuck the squirrel in his nest before returning to the rabbit.

Picking it up, he brought it over to Briarlight, who looking drowsy in her nest.

"Here," Flamepaw meowed, laying the rabbit down in front of the she-cat. "That's for you and Jayfeather. Where is he, anyway?"

"I'm not sure; he hasn't come back yet since he left before sunrise," Briarlight answered, lifting her head to sniff the rabbit. Flamepaw watched her, wondering why Jayfeather was spending so much time with Breezepelt and away from camp. Cats were starting to talk.

A cat brushed through the entrance of the den. Flamepaw turned around, wondering what self-respecting cat would go out in rain like this to travel to the medicine den, when he saw that it was only Blossomfall.

"You again?" he meowed, not having forgotten the way she had treated him like a kit. "Now what is it? Are you here to ask if you and Toadstep can be excused from warrior duties to sleep in the nursery together?"

Blossomfall glared at the apprentice medicine cat before meowing, "No." She was silent for a moment before she suddenly burst out, "How did you know it was Toadstep?"

"I honestly wish I hadn't, but I saw you and Toadstep together, looking _deep_ into each other's eyes, _in love_," Flamepaw replied, turning away to glance at Briarlight, who was watching the two of them with amusement.

"I knew you were mooning over Toadstep when we were apprentices! So what _are_ you here for, Blossomfall?" Briarlight purred.

"Oh . . . well, Jayfeather hasn't told me if I'm with kit yet."

"You _do_ want to be excused from warrior duties!" Flamepaw flashed at her. Blossomfall ignored him, looking over her shoulder, only to step aside to allow another cat into the den.

"Oh, hey, Jayfeather." Flamepaw greeted his mentor before either of the two sisters could say something. "Blossomfall came to ask if she could be excused from warrior duties."

"I did not!" Blossomfall hissed. She regained her composure and looked over at the medicine cat. "I came to ask if I was with kit. Flamepaw seemed to have forgotten to tell you to check me."

Jayfeather shrugged, shaking his head. "He told me. I just forgot."

"You forgot?" Blossomfall gasped.

Flamepaw turned around to keep the other cats from seeing his expression, but he couldn't help exclaiming, "He forgot! Jayfeather forgot to check Blossomfall! How awesome is that?"

"Well, checking for kits isn't exactly a top priority of mine right now," Jayfeather meowed flatly. Flamepaw turned back around to stare at Jayfeather.

_No kidding,_ he thought. _His top priority is Breezepelt it seems._

"Anyways, yes; you do have kits, Blossomfall. Now leave me be," Jayfeather meowed, sitting down to stare eerily at the she-cat.

"I am?" Blossomfall squealed, not noticing the weird look he was giving her with his blind eyes. "Should I move into the nursery now?"

"You _do_ want to stop doing warrior duties!" Flamepaw exclaimed. "Admit it! Confess! Confess! Confess!"

"No . . . You don't have to go to the nursery yet," Jayfeather muttered. "You can still hunt perfectly well. In about a quarter moon you can move in, but for now just avoid fighting ShadowClan."

"Okay," Blossomfall purred. "Thanks, Jayfeather." She turned to leave and trotted out of the medicine den.

"Oh; is that for us, Flamepaw?" Jayfeather asked, finally noticing the rabbit still sitting in front of Briarlight. Flamepaw nodded, and Jayfeather acknowledged his nod with a flick of his ears. Flamepaw shook his head, padding over to his nest.

_How in StarClan does Jayfeather know what I'm doing?_

Flamepaw settled down to chomp on his squirrel, ripping a few bites from it. Suddenly he wished he had chosen a mouse; the squirrel was almost as bad as a robin, what with half of it being fur.

He forced it down, finally able to stop eating and start grooming himself. When he was about halfway down his tail, his vision suddenly flickered, then became black, as if night had fallen at the time of the new moon. He let out a sharp cry, stumbling out of his nest in search of Jayfeather. Was this what it was like to be blind?

Suddenly he felt fur press against him comfortingly. "Relax," he heard Jayfeather murmur. "StarClan is trying to tell us something."

Flamepaw took a deep breath, relieved to be beside his mentor. Was Mosspaw having this happen to her as well?

Something flickered at the edge of his vision, and he eagerly turned to it, only to see large white fangs glistening before they disappeared. A heartbeat later, a pair of eyes appeared, staring straight at Flamepaw. They seemed to be beckoning him to come, come forward. But Flamepaw was frozen stiff with fright. The eyes closed and disappeared, and a low growl was heard before Flamepaw's sight returned.

Breathing hard, Flamepaw swayed on his paws, feeling Jayfeather come up and steady him. The young apprentice looked up at his mentor, eyes full of terror. "What was that?" he breathed.

Jayfeather shook his head, unable to answer. He had never seen anything like that before. There was something familiar to the way the fangs were shaped, but he couldn't place where he might've seen them before.

"Here," Jayfeather murmured, guiding Flamepaw back to his nest. "You should try to get some sleep. If you have any more dreams or visions about that . . . whatever it was, tell me."

Flamepaw nodded, lowering himself down shakily and curling up. It took him quite a while to fall asleep, but when he finally did, his dreams were undisturbed and he slept peacefully.

**A/N: So what did you think? Please send me a review; I love reviews! (And I'm not getting enough of them...)**

**Next chapter is going to be awesome; according to my standards, anyway. Keep watch for it! And review while you're waiting! It might make chapter 9 come sooner...**

**Oh yeah; if you see any mistakes, please mention it to me. It would be greatly appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: All right! Before you go on reading this new chapter, take a moment to read this (if you don't already read them).**

**=^.^= TODAY IS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF WARRIORS: INTO THE WILD! =^.^=**

**Isn't that awesome? Let's give it up for Rusty and Erin Hunter!**

**Anyway... back to the chapter. Be forewarned: this chapter has a lot of gushy... stuff. I wouldn't call it a filler chapter, because it plays a pretty important role in this fanfic. (This is also one of the reasons it's rated Romance...)**

**Anyway, read on and please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors; just the characters of great importance. Like Bramblestar. NOBODY TOUCH HIM!**

Chapter 9

Mosspaw shifted in her nest, thinking about the previous events last night. Without warning, her sight had disappeared, leaving her in total darkness. Fangs and eyes appeared, then after there was a deep growl. She wasn't positive, but it could've been the beasts she was supposedly going to save the Clans from.

Unable to sleep any longer, Mosspaw sat up and noticed there was fur brushing against her. Looking down, she saw Redpaw curled up next to her, closer than he usually would be. She poked him with a paw, wondering why he had suddenly decided to sleep close to her, but he didn't wake up.

"Redpaw!" she hissed into his ear. He turned slowly towards her voice and opened his eyes. Seeing her that close to his face, he jumped up and backed away from her.

"Mosspaw! I-I'm sorry! I—uh . . ." Redpaw stammered, trying to redeem himself with meaningless words.

Mosspaw looked quizzically at him, wanting to tell him something, but other cats were starting to wake up in the den as well. She shook her head, determined to get her thought out before she lost courage.

Poking her head out of the apprentices' den, she surveyed the clearing. It was still damp from last night's rain, but cats were already out and about, avoiding the wet patches.

Mosspaw drew back into the den long enough to beckon Redpaw to follow him. Hesitantly, he followed her out of the den and across the clearing and from there into the forest. Fortunately for Mosspaw, no cat tried to stop them. In fact, Mosspaw suspected they hadn't even noticed the two of them.

Once they had left the clearing behind, Mosspaw turned to Redpaw and sat down, ignoring the wet ground. He sat down as well, focusing on her eyes in an uncomfortable way.

Mosspaw stared down at her paws, suddenly unsure of what she had come out to the forest to say. Finally, she started to speak.

"Redpaw, I—I really like you. A lot. And even though I didn't want a mate before when I was a kit, now . . ." Mosspaw trailed off, looking away from Redpaw's piercing stare. He truly was staring, amazed, and just a tiny bit confused.

A purr sounded from him, though. "I like you too, Mosspaw," he meowed. "And I think we could be more than really good friends, if you want to."

Mosspaw looked back at him, her eyes lighting up as she breathed out a sigh of relief. She moved closer to his side and pressed herself tight into Redpaw. "Will you promise me something, Redpaw?" she murmured with closed eyes.

"Yes?" Redpaw asked.

"Promise me . . . we'll stay together forever? Even if we have problems? Even if there's a prettier she-cat? Even if—"

"Yes, I promise," Redpaw purred, cutting her off. "Even if we have to battle Bramblestar to be together, we'll stay together."

"Do you think it's right for apprentices our age to be in love?" Mosspaw purred, her eyes sparkling as she lifted her head up to gaze at him. Redpaw shrugged, not really caring.

They leaned against each other once more, enjoying the small bit of time they had together before Clan life took over. Redpaw looked down at Mosspaw, suddenly drawing back to stare once more. Mosspaw watched him, confused as to why he was looking at her like she came from ShadowClan.

"Y-your fur . . ." Redpaw stammered, flicking his tail at her pelt. Mosspaw glanced down at herself, suddenly gaping at the sight of her moss pelt.

_Wait! No! What? Why am I in my moss pelt?_ Mosspaw cried to herself. Feeling the tips of her ears grow hot, she changed back to her regular pelt. At least she had figured out that if she was really excited, she'd change without even realizing it. But . . . this meant she had to explain about the prophecy to Redpaw.

Raising her eyes to look back at Redpaw, she took a deep breath and began to explain.

* * *

"Mosspaw! Hunting patrol!" Lionblaze called from across the clearing. Mosspaw halted from where she was padding over to; the medicine den. Flamepaw needed to know that Redpaw knew about the prophecy.

Slowly she padded over to her mentor. "Can it wait for a heartbeat? I just need to tell Flamepaw something," she meowed, looking up at Lionblaze with pleading eyes.

He nodded, flicking his tail towards the medicine den. "Hurry. I'll round up Amberpaw and Dovewing."

Mosspaw nodded, sprinting over to where she hoped Flamepaw would be. Pushing her way inside, she instantly spotted her brother laying in his nest, staring at nothing. Padding over to him, she drew her tail over his back, silently alerting him of her presence.

"Oh, Mosspaw," Flamepaw murmured. "It's just you." He paused, then sat up, facing her with serious eyes. "Mosspaw . . . did you . . . last night . . . experience . . . anything odd?" he meowed hesitantly, unsure of what to say.

Mosspaw thought back to her frightening encounter with the dark sight and fangs. "Yes," she meowed quietly. "You got it too?"

Flamepaw nodded. "Both Jayfeather and I at the same time. I wonder if Bramblestar had it?"

Mosspaw shrugged. "I don't know. I was all alone when it happened to me," she muttered, jealous that Flamepaw had had company. Remembering the hunting patrol that was waiting, she added, "I have something important I need to tell you."

"Spit it out," Flamepaw purred, waiting. Mosspaw wasn't sure if he would be purring a few minutes later, though.

"Well . . . it's complicated, but getting straight to the point, Redpaw knows about the prophecy," Mosspaw mewed, watching Flamepaw as he was silent for several heartbeats.

"Flamepaw?" she asked worriedly, anxious at the look of disbelief her brother was giving him. That broke the silence spell, though, and Flamepaw jumped up, looking ready to take on the whole of StarClan single-pawed.

"You told Redpaw?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Yes, but he won't—"

"How could you tell him? This was supposed to be a secret! Only between the eight of us, the leaders, and the medicine cats! Now Redpaw probably going to go off and tell his two really annoying sisters! StarClan knows what's going to happen now that you've told an outsider cat!"

"His sisters aren't—"

"I can't believe you. I just can't believe you!"

"Flamepaw!" a cat hissed, quieting Mosspaw's furious brother. Flamepaw jumped and looked over to the side, sitting down at the sight of Jayfeather, who was glaring at him with his piercing blue eyes.

"Go on, Mosspaw," Jayfeather meowed.

"I did tell Redpaw about the prophecy, but I can guarantee that he won't tell any cat at all. I promise," she meowed, adding after a pause, "And Birdpaw and Bluepaw aren't annoying."

"Yes they are!" Flamepaw managed to get out, before Jayfeather silenced him with another look.

"How can you be sure he won't tell, Mosspaw?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned around, suddenly unsure of what to say to the cat standing there; Bramblestar.

"Uh . . . he and I . . . I mean we . . . or rather, us . . ." Mosspaw stammered. Whatever Redpaw might say, it was still very unusual to be in love at such a young age; and they hadn't even been apprentices for more than a moon!

Bramblestar got a wild look in his eyes and he meowed, "Did—did you two—"

"No!" Mosspaw exclaimed, cutting him off. Medicine cats didn't need to hear what he was about to say. "No. We didn't do anything. We just . . ."

"Mosspaw!" Now Lionblaze was calling, sounding quite impatient.

Thankfully, Bramblestar nodded, calming down. "You'd best get going. They're waiting for you," he meowed, giving her a small lick before nudging her outside. Mosspaw purred, racing out of the den.

Lionblaze, Dovewing, and Amberpaw were all waiting by the thorn tunnel when she arrived. "Finally!" Amberpaw exclaimed, turning as the two apprentices followed their mentors out of camp.

Mosspaw looked away, embarrassed, and focused her senses on any prey that might be around. She was determined to make up for her absence by catching a hefty load of prey.

They passed the training hollow, and Mosspaw noticed Redpaw and Dewpaw practicing battle moves. Dewpaw seemed to be going easy on Redpaw, and he probably was, since Redpaw wasn't as experienced as he was.

Redpaw glanced over in their direction briefly as their movement caught his attention, and in the brief moment he was distracted, Dewpaw bowled into him and held him down on his back.

Dewpaw yowled victory, but when he looked over to where Redpaw was still gazing at and saw Mosspaw as well, he nearly went limp over Redpaw. The tabby apprentice obviously noticed this, and he hissed angrily. Thrusting himself up, he threw Dewpaw off. They started attacking each other more viciously, but their claws stayed sheathed.

Amberpaw was beside her, watching her brother battle against the younger apprentice in amusement. "Looks like you've got two toms padding after you, Mosspaw!"

Mosspaw ducked her head. "Maybe. I wouldn't know why, though," she murmured.

"I've been an apprentice for three moons, and I don't have a tom padding after me!" Amberpaw sighed, looking away from their mentors, who were glaring at them. "Which one do you like better?" she added, flashing a mischievous look at Mosspaw.

"Oh . . . well, if I tell you, you'll probably kill me," Mosspaw meowed.

"No I won't!" Amberpaw exclaimed. "Please, tell me! I admit; they're both admirable toms. Whichever you pick is completely up to you. You don't even have to pick one of them; you might have your eyes set on a different tom, or none at all!"

"Okay," Mosspaw purred. "I like Redpaw."

Amberpaw nodded, leaning over to nuzzle the younger apprentice. "I thought so. I saw you two leave the apprentices' den this morning."

"Yeah . . . about that," Mosspaw muttered.

"This is very nice and all, but this is a hunting patrol, not a friendly-stroll-through-the-forest-to-talk-about-your-true-love-patrol wait what did you just say?" Lionblaze meowed, ending in a stance where he was gaping at his apprentice.

"Never mind that," Mosspaw meowed quickly. "You're right; this is a hunting patrol, so we should get on with hunting." No cat moved or said anything, so she shook her head and scented the air. Focusing on the strong scent of starling, she started tracking it, following the trail around the base of a tree. The starling was pecking the ground, occasionally straightening up and looking around in a jerky manner.

Mosspaw dropped into a hunting crouch and started creeping forward, barely able to stop herself before stepping on a twig.

"Mosspaw!" Lionblaze hissed, finally coming out of his state of shock. "Keep your tail still!"

Mosspaw instantly flattened it out and held it still, remembering her failure at trying to catch a robin a few days ago. Once she was within leaping range, she paused for a couple heartbeats, then pounced. The starling saw her just as she was about to catch it. It started to cry out an alarm call and fly away, but Mosspaw had already caught it and cut it off with a quick bite to its neck.

"Great job, Mosspaw!" Lionblaze meowed, coming up to stand beside her. "You're a natural at hunting."

Mosspaw purred, starting to dig a hole where she could bury her prey under the tree. Dovewing and Amberpaw joined them, and Dovewing cocked her head to one side, meowing, "Now, about Redpaw; you were saying you liked him?"

* * *

Mosspaw stood near the fresh-kill pile, trying to remember what it was for. It had been a really long and full day. After the hunting patrol, she had done battle training with Amberpaw, and after that she had gone on another hunting patrol. So far she hadn't gone on any border patrols, but that was just fine with her, as she wasn't sure she would be able to stay on her paws for much longer.

Choosing a vole, she stumbled over to the apprentices' den, settling down near the entrance to eat her fresh-kill. It tasted better than anything she had ever tasted.

When she was almost finished, Redpaw emerged from the elders' den and trotted over to the fresh-kill pile. Choosing a starling—her starling—he paused and glanced around the clearing.

Mosspaw was about to call him over when she spotted Flamepaw watching him closely from the medicine den. A small growl sounded from her throat, but sadly Flamepaw didn't see or hear her.

Redpaw finally saw her and made his way over, settling down beside her. He brushed his tail over her back, smoothing her bristling neck fur. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking a bite out of his starling.

"Flamepaw thinks you're going to tell every cat around the lake about the prophecy and us eight apprentices," Mosspaw sighed. She glanced at him. "I tried to tell him you'd never do that, and Jayfeather and Bramblestar believed me, but I guess it's going to take a while for Flamepaw to agree with us."

"I think he's just jealous that you have me now," he meowed quietly. "You two are very close siblings, and to have an outsider come into your group and learn a very big secret is really pushing it."

Mosspaw shrugged and started chewing her final bite of vole, unsure why Redpaw made total and complete sense.

"_And_ he thinks my sisters are annoying," Redpaw added.

Mosspaw turned to stare at him, choking on her bite. "How did you know?" she asked, once she had stopped choking.

"I was standing outside the medicine den when he said that," Redpaw purred, looking over at the ginger tom who hadn't moved. Without a word, he flicked his tail, inviting Flamepaw to join them. The apprentice medicine hesitated, but he finally made his way over to them and sat down on Mosspaw's other side.

"All right, Redpaw, if you can charm my sister, then I guess you can keep a secret," Flamepaw muttered, flicking his tail. Redpaw purred, dipping his head in thanks before leaning down to continue eating his starling.

Mosspaw sat up to start grooming herself. Everything was perfect right now. She was in love, her brother had accepted Redpaw, Hollyleaf was sort of like her StarClan mentor, Lionblaze was an awesome mentor down in ThunderClan, and best of all, she didn't have to worry about the beasts right now, whatever they were. If only things could stay that way forever.

**A/N: So... that was kinda short. Oh well! Did you enjoy it? Did you? Please tell me what you thought! And... I'm not sure, but... yes! Next chapter we see our first view of the 'beasts'! Before the next chapter comes out, review and tell me what you think the beasts are! Please?**

**Okay. Now that I've got that over with, I have to put out there that updates might be limited to once a week. When that once a week would be, I haven't got a clue. But the end of term 2 is coming up soon, so... you get the picture.**

**~Mossflower44**

**3 CHEERS FOR RUSTY AND THE ERINS! =^.^=**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Before we get started, I just want to say thank you to everyone who's reviewed and like my story! You're all great ^_^**

**Alrighty! Chapter 10. Fun. Not. Okay, that's not true; just some of you might not enjoy the ending. I didn't. That's my point. Now enough of this boring rambling; read on! Oh, and someone makes an appearance in this chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but you've heard it all before.**

Chapter 10

A paw was poked into Mosspaw's side, waking her from pleasant dreams of Redpaw. It seemed like it had been moons ago that she had finally allowed love into her short life, but really, it had only been yesterday.

Rolling over towards the paw, she opened her eyes to see a gray face staring down at her. She blinked at it a few times, not fully comprehending what it was. She sat up, feeling Redpaw's tail brush against hers.

"Dewpaw?" she mewed sleepily. "Is something wrong?"

Dewpaw didn't answer. He just stood in front of her, staring deep into her amber eyes, making her feel very uncomfortable. It got even more awkward when he finally spoke, saying, "Mosspaw, I love you."

Mosspaw's eyes widened to the size of full moons. Redpaw, who was pressed against her back, shifted at the sound of those words. He was obviously awake and waiting for her to answer. He wasn't going to control her; whatever she wanted was fine with him. Mosspaw wondered how she knew all this. She was only feeling him move, and yet she seemed to know what he was thinking!

"Dewpaw, that's very nice of you, and you're very nice and all that stuff, but I don't feel the same about you," Mosspaw meowed, trying to come up with a way that wouldn't hurt his feelings. "I-I don't love you." There; she had said it. And it was probably painful no matter how she said it.

Dewpaw's gaze hardened. "I knew it. I knew you and Redpaw had something going on. You love him, don't you?"

_Wow, you figured out all that by yourself?_ "No, I love Jayfeather. Yes, of course I love Redpaw, you mousebrain! Why else would I be spending more time with him than usual?" she snapped. She stopped, wondering why she was becoming so protective of her heart. A couple days ago it wouldn't have mattered that a tom loved her; she would've just nodded and thanked him, then said "I'm still an apprentice," or something along the lines of that. To be honest, she'd never been told that, but still.

"But Mosspaw, I _love_ you. Can't you reconsider?" Dewpaw begged. Mosspaw narrowed her eyes at the older apprentice. Since when had Dewpaw loved her? And was it even possible to reconsider who you loved? When you love someone, you love someone, simple as that. You can't just go around switching from cat to cat until they drive you out of the Clans.

"You'd do good to stay away from Mosspaw, Dewpaw," a cat meowed from the entrance. Mosspaw and Dewpaw both looked over and saw Rosethorn looking in, having heard most of their conversation.

"What do you mean, Rosethorn?" Dewpaw asked. "Why should I stay away from Mosspaw? I can be with her if I like."

"I mean that toms will do anything to protect their she-cats. I should know; I've had plenty of experience with Thorntail," Rosethorn purred, shaking her head. "Look at Redpaw, Dewpaw. He's obviously Mosspaw's tom."

Mosspaw glanced down at Redpaw and saw that his fur was bristling. If she stayed quiet long enough, a very faint growl could be heard from him, most likely directed at Dewpaw.

Dewpaw heard it too, and he rolled his eyes. "I'm not afraid of that furball," he sneered, looking back over at Rosethorn. "I don't think he even had the nerve to tell Mosspaw he loved her; if he even does."

At that moment, Redpaw erupted from his nest and launched himself straight at Dewpaw, easily hitting his target. Caught by surprise, Dewpaw tumbled backwards into Amberpaw. She woke up instantly and hissed, annoyed. Seeing what was going on, she jumped into the tussle that was happening between the two toms. Mosspaw wondered who's side Amberpaw would take, seeing as how Amberpaw and Dewpaw were siblings. But Amberpaw seemed very annoyed at being rudely woken up, and she was attacking Dewpaw. She quickly bit down on Dewpaw's tail and yanked it, _hard_.

Dewpaw yowled and flipped around to start battling her, and while he was distracted from his other rival, Redpaw flew to Mosspaw's side, shielding her from _his_ rival.

By now all the apprentices had woken up. The whole _camp_ had woken up from all the noise.

Redpaw leaped back onto Dewpaw, and Dewpaw abandoned Amberpaw to fight him again. Rosethorn and a few of the other apprentices had to jump out of the way as the two toms, locked in their fight, rolled out of the apprentices' den. Amberpaw followed them shortly after, pulling Dewpaw off of Redpaw and attacking him herself once more. She probably still didn't know why Redpaw was fighting Dewpaw, but Mosspaw figured she wanted to make a point across to every cat to never wake her up like that again.

Mosspaw and the other apprentices padded out of the apprentices' den to keep watching the fight. The rest of the Clan had gathered as well, watching the three cats brawl. The cats parted, revealing Bramblestar, Lionblaze, and Cloudtail bounding over to the fight.

Cloudtail quickly pulled Amberpaw off of Dewpaw, but the gray tom quickly jumped up and flew at Redpaw yet another time. A bright flash of orange blazed by, knocking Dewpaw off Redpaw. Dewpaw yowled, startled and hurt.

The orange blaze turned out to be Flamepaw, who came to a stop beside Mosspaw. Without asking, she knew he had switched from his regular pelt into his flame pelt and back without any cat noticing anything. Except Dewpaw of course, who was tenderly licking his nose.

Bramblestar watched, his eyes narrow, as Redpaw circled around Dewpaw and made his way over to Mosspaw's side. He looked around, finally noticing that the whole Clan had gathered and the Clan leader was staring at him.

"Would any of you like to tell me what that was all about?" Bramblestar asked sternly, looking from Dewpaw to Amberpaw to Redpaw.

"Redpaw jumped on me!" Dewpaw exclaimed immediately, casting a glare at Redpaw. "And then Amberpaw joined and took his side, ganging up on me!"

Bramblestar glanced back at Redpaw. "Is this true, Redpaw?"

Redpaw nodded. "Yes, it's true. I did jump on him. And I know I shouldn't have; it's just that he—"

"See? See? Did you hear him? He admits it! Redpaw admits he jumped on me," Dewpaw interrupted, raising his chin. Redpaw glared at him, taking a step closer to Mosspaw, as if daring him to start the fight again.

"Yes, Dewpaw, I am fully aware of that," Bramblestar meowed patiently. "Keep going, Redpaw."

"I know I shouldn't have started a fight with Dewpaw, but he was trying to make Mosspaw love him when she already told him she didn't want to. She loves me, not that flea-bag," Redpaw explained. "And Amberpaw helped, but she didn't have to, so it's not her fault. I think she just wanted revenge on being awoken." All eyes turned to Amberpaw, who shrugged and nodded.

"So . . . this is Dewpaw's fault, yes?" Bramblestar asked slowly, looking from Redpaw to Mosspaw and back.

"I guess that's for you to decide, Bramblestar," Redpaw meowed. "That's what I think."

Bramblestar nodded. Turning to Dewpaw, who was frozen with disbelief at him and Redpaw, he meowed, "Because this fight wasn't really necessary, and you seem to have provoked it, I'm assigning you to elder duties for a half moon, Dewpaw. What's more, you can't leave the camp until I say so." Bramblestar turned to Redpaw. "And since you shouldn't have started the fight, you must go and hunt for the Clan until sundown. Make sure you bring plenty of prey back with you, or you'll have to hunt all day tomorrow as well." Bramblestar flicked his tail, motioning for them to get going. He whisked around and left the clearing with Squirrelflight. Mosspaw could hear them purring quietly together as they climbed up the rocks to Bramblestar's den.

Dewpaw hissed at Redpaw before running off, probably to start on the elders. "Make sure you bring back plenty of prey for the elders!" he called over his shoulder as he left. Redpaw rolled his eyes, turning to Amberpaw.

"Thanks for your help, Amberpaw," he meowed to her.

"You're welcome," Amberpaw purred, her eyes sparkling playfully. "I didn't really realize why you two were fighting, though. Sounds like it was more important than my reason."

"Redpaw," Birchfall meowed, alerting his apprentice, "you should get going on your hunting if you don't want to hunt all day tomorrow." He looked pointedly at Redpaw. "I was going to do some battle training today, but I guess that'll have to wait. I just hope you've learned enough hunting skills to last you today."

Redpaw looked away, narrowing his eyes. "Yes, Birchfall."

"Can I go hunting, too?" Mosspaw asked, looking up at Lionblaze with pleading eyes.

"I guess so," Lionblaze murmured. "Just make sure you don't do all of Redpaw's hunting for him."

"Why would I do that?" Mosspaw purred, flicking Lionblaze with her tail.

Spiderleg rolled his eyes. "Since my apprentice can't leave camp any longer, _I'm_ going hunting. Can I lead a patrol, Lionblaze?"

Lionblaze glanced at the older tom. "So you're only going hunting because Dewpaw can't leave camp?" Spiderleg send a glare at him, and Lionblaze meowed, "Why are you asking me? Squirrelflight's the deputy, you know."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Spiderleg muttered, flicking his tail dismissively. He stalked over to the rocks and bounded up them, stopping just outside Bramblestar's den. Mosspaw watched him, wondering why he had asked Lionblaze, of all cats. Of course, Lionblaze was respected, but Spiderleg was older than him. Spiderleg was older than Squirrelflight, in fact.

"Let's go, Mosspaw!" Redpaw called, already starting to pad towards the thorn tunnel. Mosspaw bounded forward, not wanting to be left behind for a heartbeat.

Once out in the forest, Mosspaw immediately sniffed the air for any scent of prey. Before she could go track any prey, though, she felt Redpaw curl his tail around hers happily.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear, giving it a swift lick. "I'm glad I'm not Dewpaw."

Mosspaw purred back. "I love you too, Redpaw," she replied. She suddenly noticed something moving out of the corner of her eye and glanced over at it, seeing a vole. She nudged Redpaw silently, and he nodded, dropping into a crouch. Slinking forward, he pulled himself slowly forward until he was within leaping range. He gathered himself, about to leap, but a sudden growl alerted the vole, and it disappeared.

However, having the vole disappear didn't matter much to Redpaw and Mosspaw. They both fled up the same tree without thinking. Mosspaw found a hole in it, large enough for both of them to take shelter in without having to stay stuck out on a branch, yet not quite large enough that it was comfortable.

The two apprentices crouched in the hole, trying to get comfortable. It wasn't easy, as there wasn't much room inside with the both of them, plus a rough interior of the tree.

Redpaw finally gave up and slinked forward, slowly peeking out of the tree hole. Whatever he saw made him draw quickly back into the tree with a quiet gasp.

"What is it, Redpaw? What's down there?" Mosspaw mewed urgently.

Redpaw didn't respond; he was breathing too hard to utter a sound.

Mosspaw gently laid her tail on Redpaw's shoulder, snapping him out of it. "What is it, Redpaw?" she asked quietly, unsure if she wanted to know. Was it a crazy badger?

Redpaw took one last deep breath. "Mosspaw, I'm not positive, but," Redpaw paused, "I think your prophecy is going to be fulfilled a lot faster than you expected."

Mosspaw's eyes grew wide. Any thought of being cramped inside a tree hole was gone. "Do—do you mean there's a beast down there?"

Redpaw nodded slowly, shifting anxiously. Mosspaw sank down even lower than she was already, scared and confused. Whatever the beast was, she wouldn't be able to fight it alone. She needed help.

Closing her eyes tightly, Mosspaw pictured one of the most familiar cats in her lifetime; Flamepaw. She could somehow sense a connection growing between them, almost as if an ivy tendril was connecting them together, no matter how far apart they were. Through that ivy tendril, Mosspaw hoped her thoughts would flow, reaching Flamepaw.

"_Flamepaw? Flamepaw! Oh, please answer me! Please! It's Mosspaw."_

After a few long, agonizing moments of waiting, she got a response.

"_Mosspaw? Are you speaking through telepathic communication?"_

"_Yes, I—"_

"_That's great! You're the first one to figure it out. Congratulations! Well, the first as far as I know. So what's up?"_

"_Flamepaw, Redpaw and I need help."_

"_I'm not a good hunter."_

"_No, not with hunting; there's something below us. We had to flee up a tree when it appeared, and now it's down there, and we're stuck. Redpaw thinks it might be one of the beasts that we have to fight."_

"_Do you know what it is? A fox? A badger?"_

"_Hold on; let me check."_

Mosspaw opened her eyes and slinked forward as Redpaw had done, just enough so she was able to peek over the edge of the tree hole down below. When she saw whatever it was, she could see why Redpaw had freaked out about it.

The creature was very large, larger than Lionblaze had described a fox to her. It had gray, shaggy fur, and a long snout. Its tongue was lolling about, and she could see strands of saliva dripping from its mouth. Long legs were reinforced by claws at the paws that were unsheathed. As Mosspaw watched, the creature suddenly looked up to where she was and spotted her. Planting its front paws on the tree trunk, it let out a long hoarse call. With a shiver, Mosspaw retreated back into the hole beside Redpaw, who seemed to have recovered from his fright.

"_Mosspaw! Mosspaw! Answer me! What happened?"_

Mosspaw shook her head, annoyed at Flamepaw's voice inside her head. He was going nuts.

"_Flamepaw! Stop!"_

"_Mosspaw! Where did you go?"_

"_I told you I was going to check what the beast was."_

"_But you were gone for so long."_

"_Well, I'm back now, and I have no idea what it is."_

"_Does it look like anything you recognize?"_

"_I told you, I don't know what it is. Based on what Lionblaze told me, though, it looks like an overgrown gray fox."_

"_I'll tell Bramblestar right away. Where are you?"_

"_In a tree, one with a tree hole."_

"_I mean where on our territory."_

"_Oh; I think we're near the WindClan border, and maybe close to the lake. I think I can see the water from here, but it's hard to tell with all these branches and leaves in the way."_

"_Okay. Stay where you are! We'll be there as soon as possible."_

"_Where else do you think we'd go?"_

There was no response. The connection had vanished, as if the ivy tendril had suddenly snapped, and vanished. Mosspaw opened her eyes and looked over at Redpaw, who's eyes were full of worry and concern.

"What are we going to do?" he asked quietly, refusing to look back out the hole.

"Flamepaw said he was going to tell Bramblestar about our situation," Mosspaw replied, curling her tail anxiously. "Hopefully he'll be able to bring help without revealing our powers or the prophecy." She glanced back to the tree-filled forest, suddenly seeing a possibility of an advantage to all the branches that were in the way. She stood up as best she could in the cramped space and started to take careful pawsteps forward.

"Where are you going?" Redpaw mewed, standing up as well. "You can't go out there!"

"I'm just going to see if we can leap from branch to branch to get back to camp," Mosspaw explained calmly, carefully resting a paw on the branch just below the tree hole they were in. The creature below saw her and eagerly waved its tail from side to side, as if beckoning her to keep coming.

"No, Mosspaw, you can't do that," Redpaw insisted, barring the way from her with his tail. "Even if we did manage to go from tree to tree back to camp, the beast would just follow us. We'd be leading it straight to camp, and the Clan would be in danger. No," he meowed, shaking his head. "We have to stay here and wait for Flamepaw to bring help."

Mosspaw thought over what he had said, and realized he was right. No matter what, they would have to wait for reinforcements. And she certainly wasn't going to go down there right now, where the beast was clearly waiting for them.

She edged back into the hole with Redpaw and tried to make herself comfortable. Redpaw laid his head on his paws, letting out a sigh. "I was supposed to be hunting," he purred. "Now I'll have to go out tomorrow."

"At least I was with you," Mosspaw meowed, suddenly realizing how important the telepathic communication was. "If it had been you all alone, you wouldn't have been able to get help."

"You're right," Redpaw muttered, raising his head to stare out into the forest. After a few moments of quietness, the creature gave out another hoarse call, followed by another. Redpaw sighed again, this time annoyed. "How long does a patrol take to arrive at the WindClan border?"

Mosspaw shrugged, still hoping that Bramblestar wouldn't reveal she was born to save the Clans. "I just hope that thing doesn't eat us all. It's obviously what it wants."

Redpaw nodded slowly, distracted. Suddenly he stood up, forgetting that the top of the tree hole was quite low. As a result, his head hit the top pretty hard, and he dropped back down in a crouch before slinking forward and looking out of the hole.

With her ears pricked, Mosspaw joined him, and the beast perked up once more at the sight of them. Mosspaw strained her eyes, trying to see if there was any sign of the patrol. And there they were; but only four cats? Bramblestar, Thorntail, Dovewing, and Lionblaze were stalking forward, keeping low and quiet so the beast wouldn't notice them.

Redpaw nudged Mosspaw lightly and angled his ears in another direction. Following their pathway, Mosspaw suddenly saw four more cats; Squirrelflight, Graystripe, Leafpool, and Cinderheart. They were matching the speed of the other patrol, staying the same height and keeping quiet as well. But where was Flamepaw?

A sudden flash of bright orange alerted her, and her eyes darted over to the middle of both the groups where Flamepaw was, leading them on slightly faster. As he neared the creature, he suddenly leaped onto its back, sinking his sharp claws in, before jumping back off. He arched his back, snarling, daring the beast to come closer.

The beast whipped around and eagerly faced him, showing its white teeth. In a heartbeat, the other eight cats joined Flamepaw, and Flamepaw's pelt went up in flames.

As sparks of anger bounced out of Flamepaw's pelt, the beast stopped and stood still, wondering what to do. The fire looked so real, yet cats were never on fire. Unless, of course, they were fleeing from a forest fire yowling their heads off.

As the beast hesitated, Mosspaw finally got the courage to nod to Redpaw and step out of the tree hole. Very cautiously, and with as little noise as possible, they slid down the tree, paw by paw. Mosspaw kept getting her claws stuck in the bark, and many times she thought for sure the creature would look their way and pounce on them.

Finally, Mosspaw and Redpaw were safely on the ground and out of the way of any direct sight of the beast. Whatever it was, it seemed much more focused on the flaming cat in front of it than it was on anything else.

Flamepaw kept his eyes on the beast while meowing, "All of you, come over here behind me. Mosspaw and Redpaw, sneak around behind me as well."

Mosspaw crept beside Redpaw, keeping her eyes on Flamepaw's pelt. As long as she could see him, she felt she would be okay. But on the other paw, Flamepaw had exposed himself, and now the cats that knew nothing about the prophecy would want to know what was going on.

All ten cats crouched behind Flamepaw, their claws unsheathed. With a fluent movement, Flamepaw whisked around and rubbed himself against every cat. They all cringed, expecting to be burned, but instead, their pelts flared up as well. Mosspaw stared wide-eyed at her brother as he brushed between her and Redpaw, enflaming them both at the same time.

"Jayfeather told me I could do this," he hissed, before moving on to Graystripe. Mosspaw shook her head, narrowing her eyes. So how did Jayfeather know he could do that?

A growl from the beast snapped her back to the present. Facing the giant creature, Mosspaw hissed, suddenly feeling alive. The power she felt blazed off her flaming pelt as all the cats suddenly raced forward at the exact same time. They encircled the beast and began taunting it, clawing it in different places at different intervals. The beast growled every time a burst of intense pain shot through it whenever claws and fire met skin and fur.

Mosspaw crouched beside the beast, focused on its back. She figured she'd be able to leap up on top, then make her way to its head and claw it until it begged for mercy, however it did that. But she reckoned without the fact that the beast was quite tall and speedy. And she reckoned without thinking that it was getting very agitated now. _And_ she reckoned without remembering that these beasts seemed to focus only on one thing at a time. Without all these points, her plan could turn out futile. But she leaped anyway.

Her tremendous leap only allowed her to get her front legs over the beast's back, while her back legs dangled and scraped against its side. She tried pulling herself up, but the beast shook itself, and she lost her tiny grip, having to fall back down. The beast turned on her, ignoring her just barely flaming pelt. One lunge, one bite, and that would be all it took.

Before it could close its jaws around her, two cats suddenly came to her rescue. Planting themselves directly in the path of the beast, they challenged it to take them instead, allowing Mosspaw some time to get back up on her paws.

And the beast took the bait. It growled, the fur on its neck bristling, and without warning it lunged, grasping both cats at once in its powerful jaws. They both screeched, and Mosspaw heard a snap from one of them.

"No!" she cried, leaping onto the beast's face and clawing it until it released the cats. The force and intensity of that attack shocked the beast, and it shook her off before racing away. Mosspaw ignored the yowls as the other cats assumed victory. Really, she didn't hear them, because in front of her were two cats who had saved her life; yet they were lying on the ground, unmoving. And one of them was Redpaw.

**A/N: Hahahahahahaha... It's not funny, is it? No worries, I'm sure something's going to happen to him... if he survives. Yeah, break Mosspaw's heart by dying, Redpaw.**

**Tell me what you think about this chapter in a review, please! If you do, I'll give you a plushie of any cat! For free! But only if you review.**

**In chapter 11, Flamepaw finally gets to go to the Moonpool as a medicine cat! Okay, I know, he's already been there. Oh well. See ya!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: So so sorry I haven't updated for three weeks! I haven't been getting much time to work on my fanfic. -coughcoughschoolcoughcough- After the end of the this week, I should have more free time. Anyway, thanks to all you patient followers, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**For those of you that are wondering what's going to happen to Redpaw, I'm sorry to say you'll find out in the next chapter. So far he's holding on, but who knows (except me) what's going to happen to him?**

**There are two lines (both said by Flamepaw) that are quotes from two different shows. I don't know if any of you will recognize them, but if you do, let me know! (Please)**

**So... onto chapter 11!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. How many times must I repeat this?**

Chapter 11

"_Graystripe_!"

Millie's terrified screech still echoed through Flamepaw's mind whenever he saw her or the hurt cats.

They had managed to get Graystripe and Redpaw safely back to camp without too much trouble—excluding a leaf that had landed on Mosspaw's back—and now the two toms were in the medicine den. Still unconscious, but safe. Mosspaw and Millie had taken to sitting vigil by them, both lying by their 'mates'. Flamepaw glanced at his sister, worried about her health. For two full days she hadn't eaten anything, ever since the incident with the wolf; only stayed by Redpaw.

All she ever did was press up against his side and bury her muzzle in his fur.

"Flamepaw," Jayfeather meowed, alerting his apprentice as he padded up to him.

"Yes, Jayfeather?" Flamepaw sighed, still wondering how he could persuade Mosspaw to eat.

"Tonight's the half moon," Jayfeather murmured quietly, turning his sightless eyes to the injured cats. "I don't know if I should go, though."

"I can go alone, Jayfeather," Flamepaw mewed, finally giving up on thinking of a solution. "I've been to the Moonpool before; I know the way."

"Yes, I know that, but I was supposed to make you a medicine cat apprentice in the eyes of StarClan tonight," Jayfeather reminded him. "I wonder if Brightheart still remembers the right herbs," he muttered, almost to himself. But Flamepaw could tell from the way his expression was that he would be much more comfortable staying behind with the injured cats.

"Don't worry about that, Jayfeather," Flamepaw insisted. "It can wait until next time; I'm sure StarClan will understand."

Jayfeather hesitated, but he finally conceded, flicking his tail to the entrance of the den. "You should go now if you don't want to be late."

"Jayfeather," Flamepaw mewed, pausing as he tried to think of the right words. "Could you try to get Mosspaw to eat something? Millie's been eating just fine while she gets all hyper worrying about Graystripe, but Mosspaw seems determined to wait for Redpaw to have enough strength to eat with her before she touches a mouse."

Jayfeather was silent as he stared at Flamepaw, and Flamepaw was worried he had said the wrong thing. But then Jayfeather nodded, meowing, "Fine, but get going!"

Flamepaw jumped to his paws and exited the medicine den, racing across the clearing to the thorn tunnel. Berrynose, who was speaking to Poppyfrost and Molewhisker nearby, suddenly looked up as Flamepaw neared the entrance.

"Where are you going, Flamepaw?" he called, trotting away from his mate and son to plant himself in Flamepaw's path. Flamepaw halted, looking up at the cream furred warrior.

"Really, Berrynose? Really?" he sighed, exasperated for unknown reasons. "I'm going to the Moonpool; it's the half-moon."

"So where's Jayfeather? Last I checked, he was in the medicine den," Berrynose meowed, narrowing his eyes down at Flamepaw.

"Jayfeather's not coming; he's staying behind to watch over Redpaw and Graystripe. Let me go, will you? I'll be late!" Flamepaw meowed, itching to get going and see the other medicine cats again.

Berrynose eyed him for a heartbeat longer, then turned to a cat behind Flamepaw. "Leafpool, go with him, will you? You know the way to the Moonpool."

Flamepaw looked over his shoulder at Leafpool, who was standing a few tail-lengths behind them, her eyes wide and anxious about something. He narrowed his eyes, remembering he had been meaning to talk to Leafpool about Crowfeather; this would be the perfect time. Of course, there was no doubt that she was meeting him, after the performance just outside the Moonpool five days ago. But he wanted to inform her on something.

"Fine," Flamepaw muttered, flicking his tail at the older she-cat to follow him. As he padded away from Berrynose, he added under his breath, "It's not like I don't know the way to the Moonpool."

Everything was silent along the path to the WindClan border. Even the birds, though they should've been calling out before dark finally settled over the forest, were quiet, and only a slight breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. With a shiver, Flamepaw sensed danger. But it wasn't here yet.

Leafpool, who was still tagging along behind him rather than taking the lead like she was instructed to by Berrynose, kept glancing up ahead to where the stream was, then all around, as if she were watching for something. Perhaps she could sense the danger as well. Or maybe she was just anxious to get to Crowfeather.

Flamepaw stopped padding forward, not looking back. "Leafpool."

Leafpool stopped as well, not looking startled. "Yes, Flamepaw?"

"I need to let you know that I won't tell any cat about you meeting Crowfeather," Flamepaw started. He went on as Leafpool seemed to relax. "However, if any other cat sees you with him, I'm not supporting you. I never knew you were meeting Crowfeather."

Leafpool nodded, turning her head to look to one side. "What about Mosspaw? What's she going to do?"

"If I know Mosspaw, she's going to help with every bit of power she has. But that still might not be enough," Flamepaw added, looking over his shoulder at the older she-cat. "Don't let her get in trouble." He took a few paces forward, calling back, "Go on and meet him, Leafpool. I know my way to the Moonpool."

Leafpool hesitated, but then she called back, "Thanks, I think," and left.

Flamepaw picked up the pace, glad to finally reach the stream. As he padded beside it for a few steps, trying to find a good spot to cross it, he heard some cats approaching him. Hoping with all his heart that it wasn't Berrynose, he turned around. Relief filled his every muscle, and he called out a greeting to the two ShadowClan medicine cats approaching.

"Hey, Flamepaw!" Honeypaw called back, trotting forward to stand beside him. "How's the water?" She dabbed a paw at the water, recoiling as her paw touched the cold surface. "I guess it's cold."

Littlecloud reached them, coming to a stop beside his apprentice. "Where is Jayfeather, Flamepaw?"

"Oh, we had an . . . attack . . . and there are two cats unconscious in the medicine den, so he figured it'd be better if he stayed behind," Flamepaw explained, finding it hard to reveal that Redpaw and Graystripe were injured. He knew that Littlecloud and Honeypaw were medicine cats, and that they both knew about the prophecy, but he couldn't shake off the fact that they were ShadowClan cats. He'd just have to put that aside and force himself to trust them.

"Oh? What kind of attack? Not from WindClan, surely?" Littlecloud asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"No, Mosspaw and I think we got our first view of the beasts, whatever they are," Flamepaw murmured, remembering the giant dog-looking thing. "It was large and had a gray shaggy coat. Its snout was longer than a fox's, but no so . . . well, just not like one. Anyway, it was larger than what I've heard dogs are like."

"Could it be a wolf?" Honeypaw asked, her eyes wide.

"A wolf? What's that?" he answered, though it wasn't really an answer.

"A wolf is what you saw," Littlecloud meowed, sounding sure of himself. Flamepaw looked at him in surprise, but shrugged and nodded.

Turning around so he was facing the stream again, Flamepaw prepared himself to leap over. Carefully measuring the gap, he gathered himself, and sprang over, just barely reaching the other side. His hind paw slipped, and he struggled to pull himself up, but Honeypaw and Littlecloud leaped over as well and helped him up the rest of the way.

"Thanks," he gasped, having felt the chilly water on the paw that had slipped. Honeypaw hadn't been lying when she'd said it was cold!

The three medicine cats started off to the Moonpool, keeping an ear out for the WindClan medicine cats. Littlecloud was silent for a few moments, but then he looked over at Flamepaw and meowed, "I'm sure you want Jayfeather to introduce you to StarClan, am I correct?"

Flamepaw blinked and looked back at Littlecloud. "Yes, I would. Thank you, though." He could tell from the look Littlecloud was giving him that the older medicine cat was silently offering to introduce him himself. But Flamepaw knew that it was only proper that Jayfeather introduced him. After all, if Littlecloud introduced him, it would seem as if ShadowClan were getting a new apprentice along with Honeypaw.

Not long after, the WindClan and RiverClan medicine cats caught up with them. As they greeted each other, Honeypaw announced to them all, "Flamepaw saw a wolf!"

They all grew silent and looked at Flamepaw. He nodded, feeling uncomfortable under every cat's gaze. "I, uh . . . I think it was one of the beasts," he meowed, flicking his tail. "And I can tell you personally that you don't want to mess with them if you can help it; two cats are unconscious and have been since the attack, which was . . . two days ago."

"So is that why Jayfeather isn't here with you?" Willowshine asked sceptically. Flamepaw nodded, and he eyed her, wondering why she sounded as if she was proclaiming to the world that she knew Jayfeather wouldn't be coming. Turning away from her, he decided that Jayfeather and her had had some kind of history together that he didn't want to know about.

They started to pad off to the Moonpool, and Flamepaw—glad to have the attention off of him—slowed down to pad beside Mistpaw, who was at the back of the group.

"How's Sunpaw doing?" he asked her.

She shrugged and nodded, mewing, "He's good." Mistpaw glanced at Flamepaw, then asked quietly, "When the wolf attacked you, did you see Nightcloud around?"

"Nightcloud?" Flamepaw echoed in surprise. What did Nightcloud have to do anything? "No; why?"

Mistpaw shook her head. "I'm not sure; she wasn't in camp that day and she hadn't been assigned to any patrols. But then again, neither were Owlwhisker or Leaftail, so I guess it was nothing. Maybe they all went on a hunting patrol of their own."

"Yeah, that must've been it," Flamepaw agreed. "Nightcloud wasn't anywhere to be seen at all. Not even any eyes peering out from behind some bushes or the presence of her."

"Okay. I guess that's what she was doing," Mistpaw meowed, sounding relieved.

Honeypaw and Waterpaw dropped back to join the pair of them, and Honeypaw turned to Flamepaw, asking, "So how's Mosspaw been doing?"

Flamepaw looked away, remembering the state she was in. "Not well," he murmured quietly, almost too quietly. Honeypaw's ears pricked up, though, and she stopped in front of him.

"What's wrong with Mosspaw?" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Tell me, Flamepaw! What's wrong with her?"

"Hey! Are you coming to the Moonpool, or are you going to stand around waiting for dawn to come?" Willowshine yowled from way up ahead.

Flamepaw pushed past Honeypaw. "Let's go; we don't want to be late."

They neared the rocks that they had to clamber up, but before Flamepaw could start bounding up, Honeypaw jumped in front of him again, preventing him from moving forward.

"Flamepaw," she meowed, staring straight into his eyes. They were so intense that he had to look away. "Flamepaw, tell me what's wrong with Mosspaw."

"Ever since Redpaw fell unconscious because of the wolf, Mosspaw's been by his side, not moving, not eating. I'm really worried about them both," he meowed, finally explaining.

"But _why_, Flamepaw?" Honeypaw persisted. "Why would Mosspaw care so much about a cat from a separate litter? Sure, they were kithood friends, and I guess now really good friends since they're apprentices, but . . . it just doesn't make sense."

The other two apprentices were waiting for Flamepaw's reply, and he hesitated, before murmuring, "They're mates."

Honeypaw stared, but she didn't protest as Flamepaw brushed past her again and started climbing up. They all followed numbly, but Waterpaw just _had_ to break the silence.

"Is it right for apprentices to have mates?" he asked, ignoring the look that Willowshine had given him when they finally reached the top.

"They're not full mates yet," Flamepaw explained, wiggling his way through the brambles. "I assume they'll wait until they're warriors before they . . . you know. Have kits and such." He paused, adding, "At least, I hope."

"Don't you trust Mosspaw?" Honeypaw purred, the first purr that had sounded since the hushed mood had been set upon the apprentices. "I'm sure she knows better than that."

"Oh, I trust Mosspaw all right," Flamepaw assured her. "It's Redpaw I don't trust."

"But weren't you denmates?" Waterpaw asked, leading the way down the winding path to where their mentors were waiting.

"Yes, but I've never seen this side of him before," Flamepaw meowed back.

"Are you finished?" Willowshine asked, flicking her tail up at the moon. "Moonhigh's going to be over soon. We should get you three made into full medicine cat apprentices."

Flamepaw stepped away from the three other apprentices, surprisingly not feeling any resentment that he wasn't going to be introduced to StarClan tonight with his mentor. It just meant the next Moonpool meeting would be special; only he would be getting introduced.

Littlecloud turned to Honeypaw first, since he was the eldest of the medicine cats. The ginger she-cat was trembling with excitement, even though she had already met with StarClan at least twice before.

"Honeypaw," Littlecloud meowed, gazing at his apprentice fondly, "is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

"It is," she mewed, nodding.

"Then come forward." Littlecloud beckoned her forward, and she stepped up until she was in front of him and the Moonpool. Then he announced, "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will." He leaned forward to touch noses with Honeypaw, and they sat down to watch the others become full medicine cat apprentices.

Once the other two ceremonies had been finalized, all the cats crouched at the edge of the Moonpool. As Flamepaw reached down to lap the water, he noticed it was even colder than the stream and that it tasted like star water. Or rather what he _thought_ star water would taste like.

He closed his eyes, feeling a sudden urge to let himself slip into the comfortable darkness that was calling to him. His limbs went limp, and he felt as though he were floating in cold, black space; there was nothing else around.

When he finally opened his eyes cautiously, he was suddenly shocked at what he saw.

He was crouched in a field that had silver grass. It was all sparkling as if starshine had been sprinkled onto it. When he looked up, the half-moon shone brightly down on him, and he closed his eyes for a moment to bask in the heatless light.

When he opened them again, a gray she-cat was standing before him, and he took a surprised step backwards before regaining his composure.

"Hello, Flamepaw," she purred, sitting down and motioning for him to sit down as well. When he did, the she-cat meowed, "I suppose you're wondering who I am and why only I'm here."

Flamepaw nodded hesitantly, wondering why she seemed so reluctant to tell him her name.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you who I am, or the other cats from StarClan will probably punish me."

"Because you told me your name?" he asked, completely confused.

"No, because I have a prophecy for you. One that should be kept secret, yet it's just not one that can be kept quiet," she explained, only accomplishing to confuse him further. The tone of her voice warned him not to ask questions, though, so he just nodded.

The she-cat paused, but without hesitation, she meowed, "_Frosty spots and broken stripes will be restored along with the others; yet most cats won't know it until tabbies find them_."

"You do know that that makes absolutely no sense, right?" Flamepaw meowed promptly. The she-cat nodded, her ears twitching.

"Yes. It doesn't make any sense," she admitted. "Which is why it was supposed to be kept secret. Yet I am confident that you will decipher what it means. Jayfeather will help you." She leaned forward to lick Flamepaw between the ears, then vanished from sight. Flamepaw sat there, staring at the place she had been sitting, yet not really looking at anything.

A suddenly overwhelming feeling of tiredness overcame him, and he let his forelegs drop into a crouch as he closed his eyes.

"See you next half-moon, Flamepaw," Waterpaw called, as he followed Willowshine down the slope away from the other medicine cats.

Flamepaw nodded and waved his tail absentmindedly. He was still trying to grasp what the prophecy meant so he'd have the courage to tell Jayfeather.

"Um . . . bye, Flamepaw," Mistpaw mewed hesitantly, her large soft eyes watching as he shook his head, trying to focus on the outside world.

"Yeah; see you soon," he meowed, touching her ear with his nose quickly. She ducked her head, embarrassed, and scampered off after Kestrelflight.

As Mistpaw disappeared, any trace of thought about the other medicine cats disappeared from Flamepaw's mind as well. Now that his mind had been taken off of the prophecy, it was focused on the unconscious cats and Mosspaw back at camp. He started padding home without remembering to say good-bye to the two ShadowClan cats.

After he had crossed the boundary stream, he was suddenly aware of something following him, and he whipped around, ready to fight. Honeypaw and Littlecloud looked almost as surprised as he was, but he straightened up and turned away again.

"What are you doing, following me?" he asked, giving his chest a few licks to hide his embarrassment.

"This is the fastest way to get back to ShadowClan, unless you want us to go all the way around the lake," Honeypaw meowed, moving forward to pad beside him as they started on again.

Flamepaw opened his mouth to reply, but a scent caught his attention—a strangely familiar scent, but one that seemed to be buried deep in his memory. Honeypaw noticed the scent as well, and as Littlecloud joined them, she announced, "That's a wolf, isn't it?"

"How do you know?" Flamepaw asked suspiciously.

"Littlecloud caught the scent on the edge of our territory when we were coming this way to the Moonpool," Honeypaw explained, turning around in a circle. She noticed something a little ways away and beckoned to Flamepaw.

"Look," she meowed, placing a paw on a pawprint. "I think these are wolf tracks."

"How do you know _that_?" Flamepaw countered. They just looked like a very, very, very large cat had been calmly padding along with their claws unsheathed.

"I don't know," Honeypaw snapped. "I just do."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Flamepaw yowled, before leaning down to sniff the tracks. Sure enough, they had the same revolting stench on them that he had smelled. Thankfully, the pawprints were heading away from Clan territory.

He sighed, lifting his head. Why did _they_ have to be the eight little apprentices to carry this burden?

Suddenly remembering the cats back at camp again, he started heading back to camp once more, hoping that Mosspaw had eaten something. But Littlecloud called him back.

"Flamepaw! Can we follow you back to your camp? I'd like to see how Jayfeather's doing," he explained, padding over to him. Honeypaw followed, nodding vigorously.

"And I'd like to see how Mosspaw's doing!" she exclaimed.

"Fine, I guess," Flamepaw muttered. "Let's go."

He turned around and as soon as he took a step forward, he rammed into a tree—no, the tree rammed into him.

He froze, stunned at being hit in the nose—_again_—by a tree. Backing up a step, he growled at the tree and yowled, "What is with these trees? Why do they keep running into me?"

"Trees are rooted to the ground, Flamepaw," Littlecloud meowed gently, not moving from where he stood.

"That's what Jayfeather said, too," Flamepaw muttered. "I don't believe either of you."

"Oh, come on, Flamepaw," Honeypaw purred, nudging him around the tree. "Let's go."

"Give me a break; that tree came out of nowhere," he hissed, but he allowed himself to be guided away from the moving tree.

As he took the lead again, without warning a blur of cream fur flew into him, knocking him off his paws. Flamepaw hissed at the cat, not bothering to fight back.

_Why am I not surprised to get attacked in my own territory? And by none other than one of the most irritating cats in the Clans—_

"Who are you and what do you think you're doing in ThunderClan territory?" the cat hissed, shoving his muzzle close to Flamepaw's face.

"Let me think. . . . Could it be because I live here?"

"What?" The tom drew back and stared at Flamepaw, finally recognizing him. "Where's Leafpool? And why are there two ShadowClan cats with you?"

"For StarClan's sake, Berrynose, get off Flamepaw!" Lionblaze meowed, reaching over and grasping the other tom's scruff, hauling him off.

"Thanks, Lionblaze," Flamepaw mewed, scrambling up.

"So then, can you explain why two ShadowClan cats are here, Flame_paw_? And where Leafpool is?"

Flamepaw looked past Lionblaze, noticing that another really annoying cat, Seedspeck, was part of the patrol and she had been the cat to speak.

"Honestly, Seedspeck," Flamepaw sighed, "you and Berrynose would make the perfect couple." Seedspeck glared at him, curling her lip, and Berrynose straightened up indignantly.

"I already have a mate!" he meowed, his voice high-pitched.

"Okay, fine. Honeypaw and Littlecloud are _medicine cats_, and they're doing no harm. They're coming back to camp to see how Jayfeather's doing," Flamepaw explained, turning to continue back to camp. But Berrynose jumped in front of him.

"So where's Leafpool?" he asked. "I told you both to go to the Moonpool together, remember?"

"I don't know where she is! She didn't come all the way to the Moonpool; she's not a medicine cat anymore!" Flamepaw snapped, getting agitated. "Just let me by, Berrynose. I need to get back to camp!"

"Fine," Berrynose sighed, nodding to Lionblaze. "Let's keep going."

They left the three cats behind, probably on a patrol. Flamepaw shook his head, relieved that he could _finally_ get to camp, hoping he wouldn't have to deal with anymore interruptions.

"Let's go," he called to the ShadowClan cats.

Eventually they made it close enough so they could see the camp entrance, and Flamepaw sighed in relief as he ducked through the thorn tunnel, the other two trailing behind.

A sudden shriek—Flamepaw couldn't tell if it was from joy or anguish—sounded from inside the camp. Whatever it was made him bolt fully through the tunnel faster than Honeypaw could mew 'mouse'.

**A/N: Hahahahahahaha... Cliffhanger again? Sorry. ^_^**

**So apparently I like annoying Flamepaw. A lot.**

**And Mosspaw isn't eating. At all.**

**And the beast seems to be a wolf. Right? Who guessed it might've been a wolf? Ginger cookie for anyone who reviews, and if you don't like soft ginger cookies, tell me which flavor and I'll give it to you!**

**...**

**Now that you've finished reading this chapter and hopefully reviewed, why don't you amble on over to Goldsong's new fic and read it? It's called 'Storm Brewing'. (I helped a bit, but she did all the work!)**

**Next chapter: We finally find out what Redpaw's fate is! And what's wrong with Graystripe? And why is Dewpaw acting so weird? Stay tuned! Hopefully it won't take me as long to finish that one as it did this one!**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello, all! I'm back with another chapter. Except this is a really short chapter; only 7 and a half pages! But even though it's short, it's pretty important. You'll find out why as you keep reading...**

**So! Redpaw and Graystripe will now be killed. Maybe. Possibly. 68% positive. But who knows? Me! I know! That's who!**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy this! Please let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.**

Chapter 12

Mosspaw sighed, chomping down on a mouse. She cast a glance back to the entrance of the medicine den, but she stayed where she was by the fresh-kill pile. Jayfeather had finally forced her to go and grab some fresh-kill, telling her she'd wither away and die if she didn't, but he wouldn't let her back in while she ate.

Munching as quickly as she could, Mosspaw polished it off and started back towards the medicine den. Before she was halfway there, a sudden shriek coming from inside sounded.

Mosspaw never knew her legs could move so fast. They were so fast that they made her collide with a cat going the same way.

"Mosspaw?" Flamepaw mewed, struggling to get up. "What's going on? Was that Millie?"

Mosspaw ignored her brother and disentangled her legs from his. On her paws once more, she shot into the medicine den, Flamepaw and two other cats close behind her.

Bursting into the den, eyes wide and heart pounding, she looked around. It was dark inside, so it took a few heartbeats or her eyes to fully adjust. When they did, everything seemed perfectly normal . . . except for the way Millie was staring at Jayfeather. Well, she wasn't staring, more like glaring.

"How dare you say that?" Millie screeched at the medicine cat. "He could still be a warrior if he liked! Right, Graystripe?"

"Graystripe's awake?" Mosspaw mewed in surprise.

Flamepaw brushed past Mosspaw, heading to Millie's mate. Mosspaw followed, instantly realizing something was wrong with Graystripe. Something she hadn't noticed before when Graystripe had been lying unconscious on a nest.

His fur was ruffled. He still looked a bit dazed. But the worst of it was that his hind leg looked twisted into a very awkward and painful position.

Mosspaw glanced over at Flamepaw. "What's wrong with his leg?" she whispered, fully aware of the bristling she-cat behind her. And she understood why Millie was acting like this; by the sounds of it, Graystripe's leg was going to prevent him from being a warrior any longer. Mosspaw knew she'd be devastated if Redpaw couldn't be a warrior.

Flamepaw stayed silent as he leaned down and sniffed Graystripe's leg. He straightened up, looking thoughtful. When he finally explained, Mosspaw wished he had stayed silent.

"Well, when the wolf grabbed him, it looks like he did something to this leg." Flamepaw glanced over at Mosspaw, his eyes sad. "I think it's twisted beyond—"

"No! Don't say it!" Millie yowled, turning on Flamepaw. Mosspaw shook her head, scrambling out the way while trying to get the ringing noise out of her head. Millie wasn't doing anything but hurting every cat's ears! But could Mosspaw blame her?

Jayfeather sighed, his blue eyes closing momentarily. "Flamepaw's right, Millie. Graystripe needs all his limbs functioning properly in order to be able to fight and hunt."

"At least he's still alive!" Flamepaw mewed, dodging one of Millie's furious blows.

Mosspaw looked over at Redpaw, her worry for him mounting all over again. It was easy to imagine what Millie was going through. Graystripe had woken up, but Redpaw was still lying unconscious in his makeshift nest. How long was it possible for a cat to sleep?

Mosspaw sighed, moving closer to him and sitting down. She slowly trailed her tail along one of his tabby stripes, from the top of his shoulder down to his chest. As she neared his paw, he instinctively moved it to bat her tail away. It was only a slight movement, but Mosspaw detected it easily.

"Redpaw!" she exclaimed, crouching forward to nudge him gently with her nose. When she got no further response, she impatiently jabbed a paw into his belly. "Come on, you dormouse, wake up!" she mewed.

Redpaw jerked, his eyes opening to a slit. A quiet groan sounded from his throat, and he struggled to sit up. Flamepaw came over, and when Redpaw was fully straightened, he started looking the dark red apprentice over. Mosspaw waited nervously, kneading the ground with her claws.

After what seemed like ages, Flamepaw stood in front of Redpaw. "I think he's okay, Jayfeather," he told his mentor, and Jayfeather moved around Millie to join him.

"You gave us all quite a scare, Redpaw," Jayfeather meowed. At the confused and pained look on the dark red tabby's face, he explained, "You and Graystripe were bit down on by . . . something. I'm amazed that you're not hurt any more than you seem to be. Unfortunately, Graystripe got the worst of it," he added, glancing at the older warrior.

"You should probably stay away from apprentice duties at least one more day," he told Redpaw. "How do you feel?"

"Tired, and a bit dizzy," Redpaw murmured slowly. "But . . . otherwise, all right."

Mosspaw let out a relived purr.

"It would do you good to get some fresh air in the forest," Jayfeather assessed, after a moment. "Give yourself a chance to stretch your legs, after three days of being asleep. Mosspaw, would you go with him?" he added, his expression unreadable, but Mosspaw got the sense that he had missed nothing . . . and if possible, had even guessed a little more.

Mosspaw nodded, hiding her momentary sheepishness, and standing up as Redpaw rose slightly unsteadily to his legs, then followed her out of the medicine den. Once they were out in the clearing, a few cats, mostly the other apprentices, raced over to them.

"Redpaw! You're okay!" Bluepaw purred, nosing him happily. Birdpaw and Cinderheart joined them, and Amberpaw and Snowpaw stood nearby, looking on.

"Lionblaze is out on patrol right now, but I'm sure he'll be so relieved to hear that Redpaw is okay," Amberpaw meowed to Mosspaw. "We've missed you two at training," she added, nudging the smaller apprentice playfully.

"Sorry," Mosspaw muttered, still watching Redpaw. He was still being showered with affection.

After a few heartbeats had passed, Snowpaw glanced at Mosspaw. "You shouldn't have gone without eating while Redpaw was passed out. You've grown a bit thin."

Mosspaw looked over at him, surprised. In truth, she hadn't thought much about eating. And since she had recently eaten a mouse, she wasn't hungry at the moment.

"You weren't eating?" Redpaw asked, finally joining them. Mosspaw started, suddenly nervous at what she would say to him.

"I, uh . . . no . . ."

Amberpaw purred, nudging Snowpaw away. "We'll leave you two alone now." They trotted away, heading to find their mentors.

Mosspaw watched them leave, then turned to look back at Redpaw when he brushed his tail against her side. She most certainly hadn't eaten for a while. He'd have to stuff her.

"Let's get out of camp," Redpaw meowed, slowly but steadily making his way to the camp entrance. Mosspaw followed at his side, not wanting to leave him now that they were back together.

When they were well out of hearing range from the Clan, Redpaw sat down with a ragged sigh. Mosspaw joined him, basking in the warmth of her not-yet-mate. Leaning into him, she purred as Redpaw wrapped his tail around hers, giving her a swift lick on her ear.

"So why weren't you eating?" Redpaw asked, bringing up the awkward question that Mosspaw hardly knew the answer to.

"I guess I was just really worried about you," she muttered, looking in a different direction. "I forgot to eat. But I'm glad you're okay," she added, straightening up to gaze into his deep amber eyes.

"I'm glad I'm okay, too," Redpaw purred, nudging her playfully. "Just make sure you keep eating. If only for me," he added.

Mosspaw rolled her eyes. "Fine. But only for you," she purred teasingly. "And only if you promise to never leave me or scare me like that again."

"I don't know if I can promise _that_." Redpaw glanced around them. "Do you feel like we're being watched?"

"Maybe?" In truth, Mosspaw hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings. As she stared around, she wondered if Redpaw could sense something but she couldn't.

They didn't have long to wait before they found out that Redpaw's suspicions were correct. A cat emerged calmly from the undergrowth nearby, although his claws were unsheathed. It was Dewpaw.

Mosspaw stood up, her eyes growing wide in astonishment. "Dewpaw? Aren't you still being stuck in camp?" she asked, more confused than worried. It was true that he had his sharp daggers pointing out of his paws, but he would never harm a Clanmate. Right?

"Yes, unfortunately I am, Mosspaw," Dewpaw sighed, blinking at her with his calm amber eyes. "But there's no harm in sneaking out for some fresh air every now and then, is there? It's horribly boring staying inside camp all the time, wouldn't you agree?"

"What did you really come out here for?" Redpaw growled, the fur on his neck bristling. He got the feeling Dewpaw wasn't out for a friendly little stroll in the woods.

Dewpaw slowly turned his gaze onto the other tom. "Well, Redpaw, if you must know, I came here to become Mosspaw's mate."

"What?" Mosspaw shrieked, leaping back from him. "I'm not doing that!"

She had the sudden urge to try and call for help . . . she still hadn't figured out how to use her telepathic communication thing, but they weren't too far from camp . . . were they? It wasn't completely impossible to try and tell Flamepaw what was going on?

"No, not like that," Dewpaw mewed; his voice was eerily . . . inanely . . . calm. "You're just going to be my mate like you supposedly were being with Redpaw. When we're full warriors, then we can—"

"Hold on!" Redpaw interrupted, standing up. "That's not for you to decide. Ultimately, it's Mosspaw's last say on what she wants."

"Of course it's Mosspaw's decision," Dewpaw sniffed, glaring at Redpaw. "But I already decided for her. If you nicely back off and leave Mosspaw to me, then there won't be any trouble. But if you don't, then I'll just have to go and tell everyone that I caught two certain very young apprentices mating together."

_Leave me to him? Who does he take me for?!_

Mosspaw stared in shock at the words that had come out of the older apprentice's mouth. To her, what he had said was a bit taboo, at least for now. How could he have said those things? Why? What had she done . . . what had they done . . . to deserve . . . such . . . punish . . .

"Moss . . . !" was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

* * *

Redpaw rushed over to Mosspaw as she collapsed as fast as he could go, but he still felt weak from lying still and not eating anything for three days. Dewpaw reached her first and snarled at Redpaw, claws unsheathed and tail lashing, preventing him from coming closer.

"Stay away from Mosspaw from now on, Redpaw, if you know what's good for you," Dewpaw hissed. "And don't you dare tell any cat about this, or your life will be in danger . . . more so than it already was, my friend."

Redpaw tried to summon the energy to fight, but his body was exhausted. Fighting back a wave of nausea, he watched, blank with disbelief, as Dewpaw grasped Mosspaw's scruff in his jaws and started hauling her away back to camp. He was so shocked that he couldn't have moved if he tried.

As he stared blankly into the trees, he wondered why Dewpaw had done that. Why had he butted in their lives and ruined them, possibly forever? And by the sounds of it, they weren't allowed to tell any cat or be together, or he'd be killed.

He suddenly remembered that Dewpaw wasn't supposed to still be in camp. How would he explain what he was doing outside dragging Mosspaw? Redpaw slowly made his way back to camp, now curious of how Dewpaw would handle the situation.

**A/N: ... Well, that wraps up that chapter. Thanks, ShoutFinder, for helping me make it a bit . . . well, slightly longer and better :D**

**What'd you all think? I know, I know, Dewpaw was a real jerk in here... And I haven't asked him, but I'm pretty sure it's only because he's Redpaw's rival. He's really not that bad of a kitty; promise.**

**There's one thing I personally don't get, though... Redpaw and Mosspaw are less than 7 moons old. Where in StarClan did they learn to act all lovey-dovey? I mean, really; they're so young!**

**Okay. I admit it; it's mostly my fault.**

**Stay tuned for chapter 13! Oooo it's going to be interesting! -coughcoughwolvescoughcough- Other than that, Flamepaw finds out about Dewpaw and what he had done the previous day, and offers to help! Not that there's much they can do about it, is there? And poor Graystripe... and... awesome! Breezepelt's back! And there's also a nice little surprise visit from a WindClan cat. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?**

**In the meantime while you're waiting, please review! I love reviews xD**

**And if you review, I'll give you your very own realistic toy songbird! (Of whatever kind you want)**

**By the way, Sonicstat27 and I are writing a new fanfic; it's called 'Facing Fears'. Please check it out when you get the chance, and thanks to all my faithful followers!**


End file.
